| Cotoneaster franchetii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Cotoneaster |
| Species: | C. franchetii |
| Binomial name | |
| Cotoneaster franchetii Bois. |
|
Cotoneaster franchetii (Franchet's Cotoneaster) is a species of Cotoneaster native to southwestern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan, and also in adjacent northern Myanmar and northern Thailand.[1][2]
It is an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub growing to 3 m tall. The leaves are oval-acute, 2–3.5 cm long and 1–1.5 cm broad, shiny green above, pubescent below with dense whitish to yellowish hairs. The flowers are produced in corymbs of 5–15 together, each flower 6–7 mm diameter, with the five petals pink on the outer side, white on the inner side. The fruit is a red pome 6–9 mm diameter; they are eaten by fruit-eating birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.[1][3][4]
Two varieties are accepted by some authors,[4] but not treated as distinct by the Flora of China:[1]
Some authors include a third variety, var. sternianus,[2] though this is more often treated as a distinct species Cotoneaster sternianus.[4][5]
Cotoneaster franchetii is a popular ornamental plant. It has escaped from cultivation and become locally naturalised in parts of the British Isles and the Pacific Northwest of North America.[3][4]