What is "celastrus scandens"

Waxwork \Wax"work`\, n.

1. Work made of wax; especially, a figure or figures formed or partly of wax, in imitation of real beings.

2. (Bot.) An American climbing shrub ( Celastrus scandens). It bears a profusion of yellow berrylike pods, which open in the autumn, and display the scarlet coverings of the seeds.

Bittersweet \Bit"ter*sweet`\, n.

1. Anything which is bittersweet.

2. A kind of apple so called.
   --Gower.

3. (Bot.)

   1. A climbing shrub, with oval coral-red berries ( Solanum dulcamara); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara.

   2. An American woody climber ( Celastrus scandens), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; -- also called Roxbury waxwork.

Celastrus scandens, commonly called American bittersweet or bittersweet, is a species of Celastrus that blooms mostly in June and is commonly found on rich, well-drained soils of woodlands. It is a sturdy perennial vine that may have twining, woody stems that are or longer and an inch or more thick at the base. The stems are yellowish-green to brown and wind around other vegetation, sometimes killing saplings by restricting further growth. It has tiny, scentless flowers at the tips of the branches. It has colorful, orange fruits that are the size of a pea. These fruits are poisonous to humans when ingested internally, but are favorites of birds. C. scandens roots were used by Amerindians and pioneers to induce vomiting, to treat venereal disease, and to treat symptoms of tuberculosis.

C. scandens is native to central and eastern North America. It was given the name bittersweet by Colonizers in the 18th century because the fruits resembled the appearance of the fruits of Common nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara), which was also called bittersweet. Today, American bittersweet is the accepted common name of C. scandens in large part to distinguish it from an invasive relative, C. orbiculatus (Oriental bittersweet), from Asia.