Leonard Weber

December 5, 2023

In early December walks in Eliza Howell Park, I often pause at several climbing vines growing in the woods along the Rouge River. These vines provide an unusual look in early winter — green leaves and newly ripened berries.

This evergreen vine is known by different names in English, including “Fortune’s Spindle.” The one I usually use is “Winter Creeper.”(The botanical name is Euonymus fortunei.) By whatever name, it provides the last new fruit of the year.

Winter Creeper is a native of Asia,  introduced into this country as a garden ornamental over a century ago. During the last 50 years or so, some have escaped into the wild, the seeds probably having been spread by birds that eat the fruit. It grows only in one small area in Eliza Howell (as far as I know).

After climbing the trunk of a tree, the vine produces branches, looking  like a shrub in the bigger tree. It grows 20 feet high or more.

The vine climbs tree trunks using many hairy aerial roots to adhere, similar to a Poison Ivy vine. The climbing vine trunk can get quite large.

The fruit clusters were closed capsules during the fall when most other fruits ripened.

At the end of November, the capsules open, revealing the red-fleshed seeds and attracting birds — as well as humans with cameras. 

Almost every year, we get an early winter snow, clearly demonstrating Winter Creeper as a winter berry.