Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Malvaceae (often included in Rosaceae).
Genus: Cotoneaster
Species: C.glaucophyllus
Binomial name: Cotoneaster glaucophyllus
Common name: Cotoneaster, also known as Bright bead cotoneaster,
Berries are poisonous.
Cotoneaster glaucophyllus is a species of Cotoneaster native to China and the Himalayas.
This is a pest plant is arching, spreading, evergreen shrub usually <3m tall (can grow up to 5m) and is now fully naturalised. It is widespread & common in scrub, wasteland, plantations, forest margins, coastal areas, riverbeds, quarries. Tolerates a wide range of habitats.
The leaves are elliptic to ovate 1.5–4 cm wide and 3–8 cm long with a leaf stalk 0.7–1.2 cm long. The leaves are an egg to diamond-shaped in clusters along the stem with upper surface hairless and lower surface covered with dense intertwined hairs (buff-white) when young but becoming hairless with age.
Small (8 mm wide and 5-petalled) white - pinkish flowers appear (Oct-Jan) in clusters of 1-4. The flower stalks are densely hairy.
Distinctive bunches of small red berries develop Feb-Aug. The fruit is a red pome 6–9 mm diameter and almost globe-shaped. They contain two yellowish and flattened seeds.They are eaten by fruit-eating birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. They are also dispersed by fruit washed along watercourses.
Its impact on the environment is that it competes directly with native shrubs & forms pure stands.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
