Cotoneaster frigidus

Cotoneaster frigidus
Cotoneaster frigidus, leaves and fruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Cotoneaster
Species:
C. frigidus
Binomial name
Cotoneaster frigidus
Wall. ex Lindl.

Cotoneaster frigidus, the tree cotoneaster,[1][2] is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cotoneaster of the family Rosaceae, native to the Himalayas. It is a deciduous tree or shrub growing to 10–17 metres (33–56 ft), with smooth, matt, alternate leaves 6–12 cm long and 4–5 cm broad.[3] The creamy-white flowers are followed by masses of small, globose, red fruit (pomes) 5 mm diameter in autumn, persisting into winter or later if not eaten by birds.[4][5]

A Fieldfare feeding on C. frigidus fruit, Jesmond Dene, UK

It is widely grown in parks and gardens in temperate regions, and is commonly naturalised as a result of bird-disperded seed in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in Ireland.[2] It is one of the parents of the very popular garden shrub Cotoneaster × watereri;[2] this can be distinguished by its narrower, more lanceolate, slightly more glossy leaves with slightly grooved leaf veins, characters inherited from its other parent Cotoneaster salicifolius.[3] The more compact cultivar 'Cornubia' (syn. C. × watereri 'Cornubia') has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It grows to 6 metres (20 ft).[6]

  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ a b c P.A. Stroh; T. A. Humphrey; R.J. Burkmar; O.L. Pescott; D.B. Roy; K.J. Walker, eds. (2020). "Tree Cotoneaster Cotoneaster frigidus Wall. ex Lindl". BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b Mitchell, A. F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-212035-6
  4. ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  5. ^ "Cotoneaster frigidus - Wall. ex Lindl". PFAF. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Cotoneaster frigidus (Cornubia)". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved October 3, 2012.[permanent dead link]