Cotoneaster perpusillus
Common name
rockspray cotoneaster
Synonyms
Cotoneaster horizontalis var. perpusillus C.K. Schneid.
Family
Rosaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Conservation status
Not applicable
Brief description
Decumbent to appressed shrub, dense branching in herring-bone pattern; leaves slightly folded, apiculate.
Distribution
Casual, with a few scattered records from probably abandoned garden sites.
Habitat
Needs very good drainage; drought resistant once established.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Similar taxa
Compared with C. horizontalis (subsp. horizontalis), C. perpusillus has more of a herringbone look from its dense regular pinnate branching; leaves slightly folded (C. horizontalis leaves tend to be flatter); leaves apiculate cf. C. horizontalis in which the leaf tips are rounded.
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Fruiting
Can be prolific; scarlet
Year naturalised
1984, CHR 481276
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Etymology
cotoneaster: From cotoneus an old Latin name for the quince, and possibly aster, corruption of adinstar ‘resembling’, i.e. quince-like