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Scientific Name
Synonyms
Family
Common Names
Origin
Cultivation
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Other Impacts
Legislation
Similar Species
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Click on images to enlarge

stems and leaves (Photo: Greg Jordan)

close-up of leaf undersides and immature fruit (Photo: Greg Jordan)

Cotoneaster symondsii

Scientific Name

Cotoneaster symondsii

Synonyms

Cotoneaster simonsii Baker

Family

Malaceae (New South Wales)
Rosaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia)

Common Names

cotoneaster, Himalayan cotoneaster, khasia berry, Simon's cotoneaster

Origin

This species is native to the Himalayas (i.e. India, Bhutan and Nepal) and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Myanmar).

Cultivation

Cultivated as a garden plant in the southern parts of Australia.

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised in the cooler parts of south-eastern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern South Australia, Tasmania, southern Victoria and on the New South Wales central tablelands). Possibly also naturalised in the ACT.

Naturalised overseas in Europe, New Zealand and western USA (i.e. Washington and Oregon).

Habitat

A weed of gardens, urban bushland, open woodlands, forest margins, roadsides, forestry plantations, disturbed sites and waste areas mainly in temperate regions.

Habit

An upright (i.e. erect) or arching shrub growing up to 4 m tall that may loose its leaves during winter (i.e. it is sometimes deciduous).

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The stems are upright (i.e. erect) or become slightly arched as the plant matures. Younger stems are densely covered in small brownish-coloured hairs, while older stems become hairless (i.e. glabrous) and are a brownish-grey colour.

The alternately arranged leaves are relatively small (about 25 mm long and 15 mm wide) and egg-shaped in outline (i.e. ovate) or diamond-shaped (i.e. rhomboid). Their tips are sharply pointed (i.e. the apices are acute) and they tend to be crowded in clusters, on short side-branches, along the stems. The upper leaf surfaces are shiny and have a sparse covering of close-lying (i.e. appressed) hairs while the leaf undersides are greyish-green and also sparsely hairy (i.e. sparsely pubescent).

Flowers and Fruit

The small white or pale pink flowers have five petals (2-3 mm long) and are borne in small clusters containing only 1-4 flowers. These flower clusters are arranged along the branches or on short side-shoots. Flowering occurs mostly during late spring and summer.

The fruit is a small (5-10 mm long) egg-shaped (i.e. ovoid) 'berry' (i.e. pome). These fruit turn orange-red or scarlet red as they mature and are very shiny in appearance.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This plant reproduces by seed, which are commonly spread by birds that eat the brightly coloured fruit. The seeds may also be spread in dumped garden waste, and if plants are cut down they will produce suckers from the base (i.e. crown).

Environmental Impact

Khasia berry (Cotoneaster simonsii) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and as a potential environmental weed in the ACT. It invades dry forests and open woodlands adjacent to urban areas (e.g. it is naturalised in Scott Creek Conservation Park in Adelaide). This species, like the other cotoneasters, forms thickets under trees and dense infestations will shade out the native ground flora and impede the regeneration of overstorey plants.

Other Impacts

The fruit of this species are poisonous to humans. Khasia berry (Cotoneaster simonsii) may also act as a host for bacterial fireblight, a disease of orchards.

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Similar Species

Khasia berry (Cotoneaster simonsii) is very similar to grey cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii), large-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus), silver-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster pannosus), willow-leaved (Cotoneaster salicifolius) and milk-flower cotoneaster (Cotoneaster coriaceus). These species can be distinguished by the following differences:

Khasia berry (Cotoneaster simonsii) is also relatively similar to the firethorns (Pyracantha spp.) and the hawthorns (Crataegus spp.). However, the firethorns (Pyracantha spp.) have stems that are armed with spines and the hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) have deeply lobed leaves that are also often coarsely toothed (i.e. serrate) towards their tips and stems that are also armed with stout thorns.