I've walked in the countryside for many years, and yet I've no clear recollection of seeing this before this autumn - and I'm sure I would have noticed and remembered it, given the almost unreal colours and brightness of the berries. It's the spindle-tree (Euonymus europaeus). How could I have missed this? It wasn't like I've been walking around with dark glasses on all the time!
More to the point, if I've missed something as obvious as this, what else have I missed?
Its so unusual Penny. It looks more like something that belongs in a garden. I do occasionally see the odd sprig of it sticking out a hedgerow in the most unusual places.
ReplyDeleteThey're lovely fruits, aren't they? It's a rare species up here in the North East but I grow it in the garden, for the fruits and crimson autumn foliage. I gather that it has been removed from hedges in many parts of the country because it's the winter host of black bean aphid, that infests field bean crops...
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