Spindle wood is creamy-white, hard and dense. In the past it was used to make "spindles" for spinning and holding wool (hence its name), also skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles. A smooth strong wood which did not splinter was needed for spinning. Today, spindle timber is used to make fine charcoal for artists. Cultivated forms of the tree are also grown in gardens for autumn colour.
The fruits were baked and powdered, and yield a shinning hair-rinse, which is also used to treat head lice or mange in cattle. Both the leaves and fruit are toxic to humans – the berries having a laxative effect. The orange aril yields a yellow dye, and the pink seed-coat a red one.
Euonymus europaeus is autochthonous across all the south-west counties. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of moths, including the magpie, spindle ermine and scorched, as well as the holly blue butterfly. The leaves also attract aphids and their predators, including hoverflies, ladybirds and lacewings, as well as the house sparrow and other species of bird. The flowers are a rich source of nectar and pollen for insects such as the St Mark’s fly.
At Trebrown Nurseries we maintain our own registered seed stands on Trebrown Farm, which remain the only seed stand registered in Cornwall. Euonymus europaeus is not a FRM controlled species. But is FRM Certified under the voluntary scheme.
