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Cotoneaster (From Cotoneum the Quince-tree)

(from Cotoneum, the Quince-tree, and aster, like; similar to the Quince-tree). Rose Box. ORD. Rosaceoe. A genus of hardy shrubs or small trees. Flowers white or pink, small, solitary, or in axillary or terminal cymes, sometimes polygamous; petals five, imbricate in bud; stamens twenty, inserted at the mouth of the calyx. Leaves simple, coriaceous, quite entire, generally woolly beneath. There are about fifteen species, all of which are excellent for shrubberies and gardens; several are very ornamental when trained against a wall, where their intense scarlet fruits remain very conspicuous throughtout the winter. Cotoneasters are of easy cultivation in ordinary garden soil. They may be readily propagated by seed, which should be sown in spring; by cuttings, in autumn; by layers, at the same time; or by grafting on C. vulgaris or the common Quince, or on the Hawthorn.

C. acuminata (taper-pointed). fl. pink; cymes one to five-flowered very short. April and May. fr. turbinate, scarlet. l. ovate, acuminated, or acute, at length glabrous beneath. h. sometimes 14ft. Nepaul, 1820. Deciduous. SYN. Mespilus acuminata. (L. B. C. 919.) C. bacillaris (staff-like). fl., cymes short, many-flowered, puberulous. l. oblong or obovate, or oblong-lanceolate, woolly or glabrescent beneath, acute or obtuse, narrowed into the petiole. Nepaul. Hardy deciduous. Much used for walking sticks, hence the specific name.

C. buxifolia (Box-leaved).* fl. white, rather large; cymes two to six-flowered, woolly, short. April and May. l. elliptic-acute or apiculate-ovate, woolly beneath, evergreen. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Nilghiri, &c., 1824.

C. frigida (frigid).* fl. white; cymes woolly, very many-flowered. April and May.l. oblong or oblong-lanceolate, acute, narrowed to the base, tomentose beneath. h. 10ft. Nepaul, 1824. A sub-evergreen shrub or tree. (B. R. 1229.) C. laxiflora (loose-flowered). fl. pink; cymes panicled, pilose; calyces quite smooth. April. l. oblong, obtuse at both ends, woolly beneath. h. 3ft. to 5ft. 1826. Deciduous. (B. R. 1305.) C. microphylla (small-leaved).* fl. white, usually solitary. April and May. l. ovate or obovate, acute, retuse or obtuse, glossy above, pubescent or tomentose beneath. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Nepaul, 1824. Evergreen. (B. R. 1114.) "Grafted standard high on the thorn, or any of its congeners," says Loudon, "this shrub forms a singular and beautiful evergreen drooping tree; or it will cover a naked wall nearly as rapidly as Ivy; and it possesses a decided advantage over that plant, in its shoots, which may be prevented from extending many inches from the face of the wall, and, consequently, being not likely to injure the plants growing near it," C. multiflora (many-flowered). fl. white; cymes three to ten-flowered, on short or long, nearly glabrous peduncles. May. l. ovate elliptic, or obovate-acute, obtuse or rounded at the tip, glabrous above, glaucous and glabrous or faintly silky beneath. h. 4ft. Kashmir, &c., 1837. Deciduous. C. nummularia (Nummularia-like). * fl. white; cymes woolly, very short, two to five-flowered. April and May. fr. small, globose, black. l. orbicular, or obovate-obtuse, apiculate, white or densely silky-woolly beneath. h. 10ft. to 15ft. Kashmir, Western Thilbet, &c., 1824. An elegant and distinct sub-evergreen species.

C. rotundifolia (round-leaved). fl. white, solitary, sub-sessile. April and May. l. orbicular,or orbiculate-obovate, mucronate, glabrous or sparsely hairy above and beneath; pilose beneath. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Nepaul, 1825. Evergreen. (Ref. B. 54.) C. Simonsii (Simons's).* fl. solitary or twin, nearly sessile, on short lateral branches. April. l. nearly 1in. long, rhombic-orbicular acuminate, glabrous above, sparsely silky beneath. Origin unknown. Evergreen in mild winters. Probably one of the best. (Ref. B. 55.) C. thymifolia (Thyme-leaved).* fl. pinkish, small. April. l. small, oblong-ovate, dark shining green above, silvery-white beneath. Temperate Himalayas, 1852. A very pretty evergreen, less than 1ft. high, with congested, crowded, often decurved branches, and scarlet fruits. (Ref. B. 50.) C. t. congesta (congested). fl. white. l. palish green, obovate-oblong, thinly glaucous silky beneath. Western Himalayas, 1868. A neat evergreen, forming a compact rounded mass, with rigid, recurved, remarkably congested branches, and globose scarlet fruits. (Ref. B. 51.) C. vulgaris (common).* fl. reddish; cymes lateral, few-flowered. May and June. fr. globose, shining red. l. broadly elliptic oblong, rounded or acute at the tip, densely pubescent beneath. h. 3ft. to 5ft. Europe (Britain). North and West Asia, Himalayas. Deciduous. SYN. Mespilus Cotoneaster. (Sy. En. B. 477.) There is also a black-fruited form of this species.