Key to Cotoneaster

View taxon page for Cotoneaster

(For a list of species in Cotoneaster, use the above link.)

Jepson Manual glossary definitions can be seen by moving your cursor over words underlined with dots.

1. Plant deciduous

2. Leaf 

blade 

Expanded portion of a leaf, petal, or other structure, generally flat but sometimes rolled, cylindric, wavy, or cupped.

55–150 mm; flowers, fruits generally > 20; anthers purple; petals white, 

spreading 

Oriented more or less perpendicularly to the axis of attachment; often, more or less horizontal.

..... C. frigidus

2' Leaf blade 4–30 mm; flowers, fruits < 5; anthers white; petals pink to ± red, 

erect 

Upright; vertically oriented.

3. Leaf blade generally widely 

elliptic 

In the shape of a flattened circle or ellipse; wider than linear

, 4–14 mm; stamens 8–11; fruit 4–7 mm; branchlets many, planar ..... C. horizontalis

3' Leaf blade generally 

ovate 

Egg-shaped (i.e., widest below the middle) in two dimensions (i.e., in one plane), as a leaf.

, 10–30 mm; stamens 20; fruit 7–14 mm; branchlets few, 

ascending 

Curving or angling upward from base, or about 30-60 degrees less than vertical or away from axis of attachment.

..... C. simonsii

1' Plant evergreen

4. Leaf blade 5–15 mm, < 8 mm wide; plant sprawling, <= 1 m

5. Leaf blade narrowly elliptic, abaxially densely 

tomentose 

Covered with densely interwoven, generally matted hairs.

..... C. hodjingensis

5' Leaf blade narrowly oblanceolate, abaxially sparsely hairy ..... C. integrifolius

4' Leaf blade 15–95 mm, > 8 mm wide; plant arching, 1–9 m

6. Petals pink or rose, erect; styles, stones 2–3(4), some > 2 on all plants; fruit orange to red-orange ..... C. franchetii

6' Petals white, spreading; styles, stones 2; fruit bright red

7. Leaf blade 35–95 mm, 17–45 mm wide, thick, adaxially dark green, lateral veins often sunken ..... C. lacteus

7' Leaf blade 15–32 mm, 8–15 mm wide, thin, adaxially ± blue-green, lateral veins not sunken ..... C. pannosus

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