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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
Management
Similar Species
Print Fact Sheet
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Click on images to enlarge

habit in flower (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit in fruit (Photo: Trevor James)

leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

undersides of younger leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

dense flower clusters (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flowers (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of flower (Photo: Greg Jordan)

older leaves, with hairless undersides, and mature fruit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)

mature fruit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of mature fruit (Photo: Rob and Fiona Richardson)

Cotoneaster glaucophyllus

Scientific Name

Cotoneaster glaucophyllus Franch.

Synonyms

Cotoneaster glaucophyllus Franch. forma serotinus (Hutch.) Stapf
Cotoneaster glaucophyllus Franch. var. serotinus (Hutch.) L.T. Lu & A.R. Brach
Cotoneaster serotinus Hutch.

Family

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

Common Names

bright bead cotoneaster, cotoneaster, grey cotoneaster, grey leaf cotoneaster, grey leafed cotoneaster, greyleaf cotoneaster, grey-leaved cotoneaster, large leaf cotoneaster, large-leaf cotoneaster, large-leaved cotoneaster

Origin

This species originated in eastern Asia (i.e. in southern China and Vietnam).

Cultivation

A common garden plant (i.e. ornamental), particularly in southern Australia.

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised around populated areas mainly in the south-eastern parts of the country. It is most common in eastern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania. Scattered populations are present in south-western Western Australia and in the southern parts of South Australia.

Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island and in New Zealand.

Habitat

A weed of open woodlands, grasslands, coastal environs, urban bushland, waterways, roadsides, railway lines, disturbed sites and waste areas. It is mostly restricted to temperate regions.

Habit

An upright (i.e. erect) or arching, many-stemmed, shrub or small tree usually growing 3-5 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 7 m in height.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The stems are upright (i.e. erect) at first and later become arched. Younger branches are reddish-brown in colour and covered in fine downy hairs (i.e. they are pubescent). As they age, the stems become hairless (i.e. glabrous) and turn grey or dark brown in colour.

The alternately arranged leaves are borne on stalks (i.e. petioles) 4-10 mm long. They are oval (i.e. elliptic) or egg-shaped in outline (i.e. ovate) and are widest at or below the middle. The leaf blades (2-8 cm long and 1.5-4 cm wide) have entire margins and pointed tips (i.e. acute apices). Their upper surfaces are smooth and dark green in colour while their lower surfaces are initially greyish-green and covered in whitish hairs (i.e. they are pubescent). These hairs often wear off as the leaves mature, leaving pale green or slightly bluish-green (i.e. glaucous) undersides.

Flowers and Fruit

The white flowers (5-8 mm across) are borne in large clusters along the branches that each contain 20-60 flowers. The individual flowers are borne on short stalks (i.e. pedicels) 2-4 mm long and have five small spreading petals (2-4 mm long). They also have five sepals (1-2 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide), about 20 stamens and two styles. Flowering occurs mostly during late spring and summer.

The rounded (i.e. globular) or egg-shaped (i.e. ovoid) fruit are borne in large hanging clusters. These glossy 'berries' (i.e. pomes) and are initially green, but they turn bright glossy red as they mature. Each 'berry' (6-8 mm across) usually contains two 'seeds' (i.e. nutlets or pyrenes) that are 2-3 mm across. The fruit may be present from autumn through to late winter (i.e. February to August).

Reproduction and Dispersal

This plant reproduces by seed, which are commonly spread by birds that eat the brightly coloured fruit. Seeds are also dispersed by other animals (e.g. foxes) and in dumped garden waste. If plants are cut down they will produce suckers from the base (i.e. crown).

Environmental Impact

Large-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus ) is a significant environmental weed in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, and a moderately important environmental weed in New South Wales, Western Australia and on Lord Howe Island.

This species is commonly found on the fringes of urban bushland and along roadsides in southern Australia. It also invades heathlands, lowland grasslands, open woodlands, dry sclerophyll forests, wet sclerophyll forests, coastal habitats, riparian vegetation, freshwater wetlands and rocky outcrop vegetation. This species, like the other cotoneasters, forms thickets under tall trees and dense infestations will shade out the native ground flora and impede the regeneration of overstorey plants.

Other Impacts

The fruit of large-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus) are poisonous to humans and this species can 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:

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

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

Large-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus) 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.