Anyone know about a shrub called 'Cardinal's Cap'?

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Dec 10, 2009

An older lady at church last weekend, who recently moved here from Minnesota to live with her daughter, asked me if I had ever heard of a favorite shrub of hers from back home called Cardinal's Cap. I can't find any info on it in my books or from a Google search. Is it familiar to anyone here on Dave's Garden? I'd love to have an answer for her, and maybe even find one for her daughter to grow. She said it had flowers (seed pods?) that hung down and resembled a cardinal's red cap of feathers.

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Dec 10, 2009

Maybe a spindle or Euonymus?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joekepieters/4170234632/

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Dec 11, 2009

The name is sure the same, according to the info on the site you gave. I've got the photo and will show it to her next weekend. (???)

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Leftwood Saint Bonifacius, MN(Zone 4a) Dec 11, 2009

I have lived in MN for 50 years, and that's the only thing I can think of. We have a wild Euonymus species that grows in the southern half of the state that would fit the bill. (Nearly all Euonymus species have the same type of capsule, but there are very few that actually fruit to any extent that people grow in MN.) What most people call (Winged)Burning Bush or Winged Euonymus (Euonymus alata) is a Euonymus that doesn't hardly fruit here. Except for the groundcover types, I don't think there are any Euonymus species that will survive the northern half of the state. So if your church friend is from the southern half of MN, I think you have your ID.

Be aware, though, that except for the native species to your area, most Euonymus species that are bushes are invasive east of my location. That would include Indiana. Euonymus is included in your Indiana's Invasive Plant Pests list http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS/plants.html

I do grow a few different E species that fruit prolifically, but except for E. nanus turkestanicus (Pic below), I had to mail order the plants. The capsules look much more like a cardinal's cap with the four "ribs" before they open and reveal the red (or orange) seeds within.

Rick

Thumbnail by Leftwood
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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Dec 11, 2009

Thank you both for your input. I found a photo on the web and printed it off to show the lady if I see her at church this weekend. It seems to fit the bill!

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