Common Names
Eastern wahoo, American spindle tree, arrow-wood, bitter ash, bleeding heart, burning bush, bursting heart, Indian arrow-wood, pegwood, purple strawberry bush, skewerwood, spindle tree, strawberry bush, wahoo.

Description
A shrub or small tree that grows to 25 feet in height. It has green 4-sided branches and purplish flowers. Produces seeds in prominent scarlet 4-lobed fruit.

Flowering Period
May to July.

Habitat
Rich woods and thickets, stream banks, swamps and forests.

Harvest
Bark of root and stem any time of the year.

Uses
The bark is reported to be of value as a drastic purgative.