Shrub or small tree to 5 m (15 ft) tall. Bark thin, gray, with thin scales. Twigs thin, dark purple-brown, glabrous, often angled or ridged. Buds small, pointed, with several pairs of purple scales. Leaves opposite, elliptical, acuminate, finely serrate, 5-11 cm (2-4.4 in) long and 3-5 (1.2-2 in) cm wide, dark green above, pale green below. Flowers in clusters on thin branching stalks at leaf bases, about 1 cm (0.4 in) across, with four red or purple petals, blooming in late Spring or early Summer. Fruits deeply four-lobed dark red or purple capsules splitting open in the Fall.
Distribution: Native to much of the interior eastern U. S.
Habitat: Floodplain forests.
NWI status: FAC+
Comment: Euonymus means "true name"; atropurpurea refers to the purplish flowers and fruits.
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
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Last update: 9/10/99
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