Cotoneaster coriaceus
Common names
cotoneaster
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Spreading evergreen shrub up to 3 m high. Young shoots buff tomentose and erect, later becoming glabrous, dark purplish and arching. Leaves up to 80m x 45 mm, slightly shining and with deeply impressed veins above, tomentose beneath, becoming less so with age. Flowers in clusters of 20-80, with spreading white petals. Fruit 5-8 mm diameter, glossy orange of scarlet red.
Similar taxa
Generally similar to C. glaucophyllus but leaves with veins strongly impressed above. and more flowers in each cluster.
Habitat
Dry shrubland, forest margins, wasteland in urban places.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Rosaceae
Synonyms
Cotoneaster lacteus W.W.Sm
Ecology
Flowering
November, December, January
Fruiting
February-August.
Year naturalised
1988
Origin
Yunnan (China)
Tolerances
Tolerant of wet-dry conditions.
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduces from seed, many seeds are produced per fruit, but viability is unknown at this stage. Seed is dispersed widely by birds.
Other information
Etymology
cotoneaster: From cotoneus an old Latin name for the quince, and possibly aster, corruption of adinstar ‘resembling’, i.e. quince-like
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
COTCOC
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Dickore WB, Kasperek G. 2010: Species of Cotoneaster (Rosaceae, Maloideae) indigenous to, naturalising or commonly cultivated in Central Europe. Willdenowia 40(2): 13-45.