Frozen berries of the wahoo tree.

Wandering along the Wakarusa on Nov. 6th, we happened upon this lovely bit of color in the very brown and open woods. These beautiful crimson berries grow on an opposite branching tree/shrub. It didn't look like any of the usual suspects for opposite branchers. Not a maple, ash, dogwood, horse chestnut or honeysuckle (Caprifoliacea.)

Winter challenges naturalists when identifying trees. Most people know trees by their leaves, but in the winter you don't often have leaves to work with. You have to learn the trees by their bark, their shape, their branching, by their bud scars, and growing habits. If you know your trees in winter though, you will easily recognize them in summer. I learned to separate trees into groups, trees with needle leaves, trees with branches that grow opposite each other and trees with branches that grow alternating. Learning them in that order makes it easier.

We have only one native needle-leafed tree in Kansas, the misleadingly named Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana.) You probably want to learn the non-native species for when you see them on trips or planted in yards, but here in Kansas we can quickly move to the opposite branchers. As I said above, you don't have many to learn. Some people remember the opposite branching trees I mentioned above with the mnemonic MADHorse or MADCap. Apparently we had one more tree to add, because our mystery tree did not fit the neumonic.

I felt sure that the tree did not belong to any of the really deadly poisonous plants, so I hazarded a little taste of one of the attractive red berries. Just the tiniest bit on the tounge. It tasted bitter, somewhat tannic and not like something I would want to eat. I didn't swallow any of it. I thought it might have medicinal qualities. I handed Bill a copy of of Homer A. Stephen's book Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines in Kansas in which he found the name of our mystery plant, the Burning Bush or Wahoo plant (Euonymous atropurpurea.)

All parts of this plant can poison you, though generally only if you eat it in quantity. You want to exercise special caution with the seeds, described as violently emetic (induces nausea and vomiting.) I have also read the toxins act much like digitalis affecting the heart. You might want to leave experimenting with this plant for the more experienced herbalists. The plant has many medicinal uses. Herbalists sometimes use the root and stem bark to treat constipation, liver and gallbladder problems. It can also treat chest and lung congestion, indigestian and fever, even head lice. The wood of the plant may also make good arrows. Wahoo comes from a Dakato word meaning "arrow-wood."

So here we have one more tree to add to the list of opposite branchers, one with much to offer the primitive skills enthusiast.