My turn

You saw cottonmanifesto's pics of this bird, I just wanted to put mine out there too. Otherwise it will just collect virtual dust on my hard drive.

365 Urban Species. #278: Burning Bush

Photos by urbpan. Location: in the landscaping in front of the Brookline Water and Sewer Division.

Urban species #278: Burning bush Euonymus alata

This shrub is probably behind only rhododendron or perhaps yew in its popularity in the landscaping of Boston. Hopefully, its addition to the prohibited plants list will force more creativity into the field. There is no doubt that the autumn foliage of burning bush is spectacular, but the novelty wears off after seeing several dozen of these on a walk around the neighborhood. Most unfortunate is the fact that this plant is invasive, and has escaped cultivation in suburban woods to become a persistent nuisance. It tolerates a variety of soils and grows even in the shade, and is spread quite readily by birds, who love to feed on its attractive red fruit. Native shrubs cannot compete with it in areas where they occur. Euonymus alata is native to Asia, and is also known as winged euonymus and cork bush (for the corky wings on the stems). It now grows wild from New England to the Gulf of Mexico.