Comparing
Cotoneasters and Pyracantha
by Bruce
Homer-Smith
These
plants are all non-natives and grow in damp, disturbed areas. They’re similar but you can tell them
apart.
|
Plant |
Leaf
size/veins |
Flower |
Fruit
color/shape |
|
Franchet’s Cotoneaster C. franchetii To
10’ |
About
2”, silver-grey below. Indented veins. |
Pink,
purple anthers |
Orange-red,
taller than wide. 2-3 berries along the shoot. |
|
Milkflower Cotoneaster C. lacteus To
30’, many branches |
Large,
on stalks, up to 3.5”. Shiny green
above, thick, veins often indented. |
White,
purple anthers |
Red
spheres. Clusters of 20-30 berries. |
|
Woolly Cotoneaster C. pannosus To 5’ |
Leaf
about 1”, pointed, thin. Blue-green
above, pale below |
White,
purple anthers |
Right
red, wider than tall. Many berries per
cluster. |
|
Pyracantha Pyracantha sp. Thorns To 15’ |
Leaves
serrated or bumpy edges. Edges rolled under. |
White,
yellow anthers |
Red,
indented at the top like an apple. |
Only
Pyracantha has thorns, bumpy leaf edges and yellow anthers.
Here
are comparison photos for the cotoneasters:
View from above the leaves - Photo © David L. Nelson
View from underside of leaves – Photo © David L. Nelson
Franchet’s Cotoneaster has oval
orange to red berries, taller than wide.
Leaf veins are sunken. Leaf
undersides are felty.
Flower petals are pink, not white.
Photo © David L. Nelson
Milkflower Cotoneaster can grow
much taller, up to 30 feet. It often has
many branches.
Photo © Neal Kramer
Woolly
Cotoneaster’s leaf veins are not indented.
Fruits are bright red and look dented, wider than tall.
Photo by Wilde Legard
Pyracantha
berries are indented at the top, like an apple.
Photo by Ron Vanerhoff
|
|
Corrections/Comments: bruce@PlantID.net Copyright: https://PlantID.net/Contributors.aspx |
