For those who covet the vivid red fall color of the invasive burning bush (Euonymus alatus), meet its native counterpart — the Eastern wahoo. Also known as spindle tree or eastern burning bush, this striking native offers pinkish-red fall foliage, showy late-summer fruits loved by birds, and impressive adaptability to a range of soil and light conditions.
 
In full sun, wahoo produces its brightest fall color, but it also tolerates dry shade remarkably well. Typically reaching 10–15 feet tall with an upright, irregularly spreading form, it can grow up to 25 feet in warmer regions. Wahoo often suckers and reseeds, forming attractive thickets that make excellent natural hedges or wildlife shelter.
 
Its most captivating feature appears in late summer and fall — rosy seed capsules that split open to reveal scarlet-coated seeds, earning it the charming nickname “hearts bursting with love.” The species name atropurpureus means “dark purple,” likely referencing the deep hues of the flowers.
 
Native habitats include moist woodlands, shaded riverbanks, woodland edges, meadows, and prairies. Eastern wahoo thrives in rain gardens, naturalized areas, woodland borders, or as an informal hedge, adding both ornamental appeal and ecological value wherever it’s planted.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 10-15’ tall and 8-10' wide.
 
Grows in full or part sun and tolerates full shade.
 
Prefers moist to medium conditions and fertile, loamy soils but adapts to a wide array of well-drained soil types.
 
Small, forked cymes of 7-20 flowers bloom on year-old stems for about a month. Each flower is 1/3” wide and consists of 4 triangular petals, 4 sepals, 4 short stamens with yellow anthers, and a pistil with a short style. Flowers are replaced by 4-lobed pink or red seed capsules that split to reveal 4 fleshy red fruits containing two seeds.
 
Oval-shaped leaves are dark green and up to 4½” long and 2” wide. They are hairless on the upper surface and finely pubescent on the underside.
 
Trunk and larger branches have thin, gray, slightly rough bark. New branches are green and 4-sided, developing lines of corky tissue that temporarily give it a striped appearance.
 
Wildlife Value:
Wahoo is a host plant to 14 species of Lepidoptera larvae, including cecropia, ailanthus silk, small engrailed, and American ermine moths. The flowers attract small bees, beetles, and various flies. Deer and rabbits browse the leaves and young shoots. Birds such as northern flickers, brown thrashers, catbirds, eastern bluebirds, cardinals, and eastern towhees eat the fruits.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
The powdered bark was used by Native Americans and pioneers as a purgative.
 
Caution: The bark, leaves, and fruits of eastern wahoo are poisonous if consumed.