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Wintercreeper euonymus

Euonymus fortunei · Celastraceae · all Euonymus records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: 1 condition stated in cited fire-evidence rows.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 5 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: British Columbia; Colorado / Rocky Mountain Front Range; Marin County, California; Ohio / Midwest; Tennessee; Virginia / Mid-Atlantic; eastern US; southern Idaho / Intermountain; western WA
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

Typed publication scope: 7 scopes across 7 cited fire sources

Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants (Fact Sheet 6.305) · Official scoped edition
- CO; partial normalized coverage · 2025-07-01
  Colorado State University Extension and the Colorado State Forest Service publish Fact Sheet 6.305 for Colorado's WUI and varied ecosystems. FireApproved exposes all 114 exact source owners at Colorado publication scope while retaining score, elevation, water, and Idaho-carrier lineage. Publication scope is not suitability for every Colorado site or zone.
Fire-Resistant Plants Common to Marin County · Official scoped edition
- Marin County (CA footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2019-01-01
  The publication is explicitly limited to plants common to Marin County. FireApproved publishes 104 exact owners as Marin regional context while retaining its placement, spacing, irrigation, and maintenance boundary. It is not statewide California guidance or parcel suitability.
Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database · Official scoped edition
- Southern Idaho (ID footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2013-11-08
  The official database labels itself "For Southern Idaho" and describes Idaho residents at the urban-rangeland interface. FireApproved publishes 419 existing plant owners that cite its scored rows. This bounded Southern Idaho scope is regional context, not statewide coverage or a conclusion that the score transfers unchanged to every Idaho site.
Firewise Plants for the Puget Sound Basin · Official scoped edition
- Puget Sound Basin (WA footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2011-01-01
  King County's current wildfire page links this list for the Puget Sound Basin. FireApproved publishes 82 exact source owners as basin context, not statewide Washington guidance or a site-specific recommendation.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
- OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01
  Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.
Landscaping Guidelines to Protect Your Home from Wildfire (SP685) · Official scoped edition
- TN; partial normalized coverage · 2006-10-24
  University of Tennessee Extension SP685 is Tennessee landscape guidance and publishes 78 represented plant owners. Most table rows are a carrier of Virginia Firescapes rather than an independent rating; Tennessee source scope does not change that lineage or establish site suitability.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) · Official scoped edition
- VA; partial normalized coverage · 2009-04-15
  Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: 28 sourced range or established records; set a location to match them. This is not an invasive warning.
USDA hardiness: Documented minimum 5b; no upper limit is documented.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: 3 legal-list records; set a location to match exact scope.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: 1 ecological invasive report; set a location to distinguish exact from regional context.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

Plant-specific legal-list reviews (1)

These source-bound review receipts are separate from ecological invasive reports. A source or plant identity change invalidates a receipt.

IN · Prohibited here. Designated prohibited in the reviewed Indiana 312 IAC 18-3-25 Prohibited Invasive Terrestrial Plants as of 2026-08-26. Authority: Indiana Department of Natural Resources; scope: state; as of 2026-08-26. Official reference. Normalized source record.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Wintercreeper euonymus (Euonymus fortunei) — Photo: (c) Sylvia Scharf, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: groundcover
USDA hardiness: Minimum 5b; upper limit not documented
Mature height: ~1 ft
Light: Part sun
Water need: moderate
Grows in: AL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, KS +18
Rated in: British Columbia; Colorado / Rocky Mountain Front Range; Marin County, California; Ohio / Midwest +5
Family: Celastraceae
Evidence: 9 cited sources

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

0

exact source areas

Current introduced

28

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

28 introduced source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alabama (AL)
Arkansas (AR)
Connecticut (CT)
District of Columbia (DC)
Delaware (DE)
Georgia (GA)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Kansas (KS)
Kentucky (KY)
Massachusetts (MA)
Maryland (MD)
Michigan (MI)
Missouri (MO)
Mississippi (MS)
North Carolina (NC)
Nebraska (NE)
New Jersey (NJ)
New York (NY)
Ohio (OH)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode I. (RI)
South Carolina (SC)
Tennessee (TN)
Texas (TX)
Virginia (VA)
Vermont (VT)
Wisconsin (WI)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record euonymus-fortunei · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 5 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Euonymus fortunei · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.
USDA PLANTS Database — Plant Characteristics · record EUFO5 · PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23 · as of 2026-08-26

Minimum 5b · no upper limit documented · half zone precision · derived containing band

Exact source measurement: -13°F; mapped only to its containing half-zone.

Source taxon: Euonymus fortunei · source identifier match.

Source location: PlantCharacteristics record 75032, Temperature, Minimum (°F).

Legal restrictions and listings.

IN · prohibited · Prohibited invasive terrestrial plant — current rule fully enforceable since April 18, 2020 · Authority: Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Source: Indiana 312 IAC 18-3-25 Prohibited Invasive Terrestrial Plants , record indiana:312-iac-18-3-25:a:020, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: The rule applies to any part or life stage of each listed species. A person must not sell, offer or grow for sale, gift, barter, exchange, distribute, transport, or transfer that material in Indiana. (official condition)
activity restriction: The rule applies to any part or life stage of each listed species. A person must not introduce that material in Indiana. (official condition)
operational exception: This section does not apply to a person who possesses a listed species under a permit issued by the Indiana State Entomologist. (official condition)
operational exception: This section does not apply to a person engaged in a project approved by the Indiana State Entomologist for destruction of a listed species. (official condition)

ME · prohibited · Specified living-plant trade activities prohibited since 2024-01-01 · Authority: Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Source: Maine Chapter 273 Do Not Sell and Special Concern Lists , record maine:prohibited:040, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: Living viable material may not be imported, exported, bought, sold, or intentionally propagated for sale or distribution. (official condition)
permit required: The State Horticulturist may permit importation and field experimentation for scientific, educational, or other approved purposes under prescribed conditions. (official condition)
material scope exception: Preserved herbarium specimens and material preserved by other means are exempt from Chapter 273. (official condition)

NY · regulated · Regulated invasive species — commerce allowed with notice; introduction into a free-living state restricted · Authority: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Source: New York 6 NYCRR Part 575 Prohibited and Regulated Invasive Species , record new-york:part-575:plant:073, 2026-08-26.

activity restriction: This regulated invasive species may not knowingly be introduced into a free-living state, including by a means one knew or should have known would lead to that introduction. (official condition)
operational exception: Part 575 allows possession, sale, purchase, propagation, and transport of regulated species; the restricted activity is introduction into a free-living state. (official condition)
sale disclosure: A regulated species offered for sale requires the 14-point warning 'Invasive Species-Harmful to the Environment,' non-invasive alternative information, and spread-prevention instructions; qualifying landscape services must give written notice before supply or planting. (official condition)
operational exception: Possession or transport for identification or disposal, and control or management of pre-existing invasive species, remain exempt when handled within Part 575's no-spread boundary. (official condition)
permit required: A New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit is required to carry out an otherwise restricted introduction for research, education, or another approved activity. (official condition)
material scope exception: NYSDEC currently lists these cultivars as conditionally exempt under 6 NYCRR 575.8(a)(4): 'Kewensis', 'Vanilla Frosting'. This species-page record is not a cultivar determination. (official condition)

Legal designations are separate from ecological invasion reports and fire performance. Read the named class, taxonomic scope, authority, and operating conditions before acting.

Conditions in the fire evidence

These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.

irrigated: Fire-Resistant Plants Common to Marin County evidence row

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 3 — 10–30 ft from the structure; thin vegetation, remove debris, and minimize plant massing [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (mid-scale rating)
Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database: plantable at 30' from home [Idaho minimum planting distance] (with its recommendation)
Firewise Landscaping: do not plant within 5 ft of structures (keep out of Zone 1) [OSU B921 source-category siting] (mid-scale rating)
FireSmart BC Plant Program: suitable for HIZ intermediate zone (10-30 m) [FireSmart BC Home Ignition Zone] (with its recommendation)
Ignition-Resistant Landscape Plants: suitable for defensible-space zones 1-2 (score 8+) [CSU defensible-space zone] (with its recommendation)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Mid-scale / conditional (3)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“AT RISK Firewise (3)”

Invasive into other plantings-roots at nodes-will climb on trees. Very susceptable to euonymus scale on stems.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) — Ohio State University Extension (Sydnor, Steward, Kloss / Ohio DNR Division of Forestry) · 2006 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H (evergreen shrubs); L (ground covers)”

Marginally cold hardy; insect and disease sensitive; fruit and leaves may be toxic.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) — Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Tech (Appleton, Frenzel, Hillegass, Lyons, Steward — Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force) · 2009 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H (evergreen shrubs); L (groundcovers)”

evergreen shrubs: Fruit and leaves may be toxic. groundcovers: Many forms exist, some vines. Best planted in sun. Prone to insect problems.

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · ITIS

Euonymus fortunei (Wintercreeper euonymus). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/euonymus-fortunei/. Last verified 2026-08-23.