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Chinese photinia, Chinese photinia or hawthorn, photinia, Taiwanese photinia

Habit Plants 40–60(–120) dm. Shrubs or trees, sometimes subshrubs or herbs.
Leaves

persistent;

petiole 20–40 mm, villous adaxially when young, glabrescent;

blade narrowly elliptic to oblong, obovate-elliptic, or narrowly obovate, (6–)9–20 × 3–6.5 cm, coriaceous, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margins sharply serrate to rarely inconspicuously toothed or entire, lateral veins 20–30 pairs, apex acuminate, abaxial surfaces slightly villous along veins when young, quickly glabrescent.

alternate, sometimes opposite, simple, sometimes pinnately compound;

stipules present or absent.

Inflorescences

10–18 cm diam.

Pedicels

without lenticels.

Flowers

6–8 mm diam.;

petals suborbiculate, 3–4 mm, glabrous or villous.

torus absent or minute;

carpels 1–5(–8), distinct or +/- connate (Maleae), free or +/- adnate to hypanthium (many Maleae), styles distinct or +/- connate (some Maleae);

ovules (1 or)2(–5+), collateral, clustered, or biseriate.

Fruits

follicles aggregated or not, capsules, drupes aggregated or not, aggregated drupelets, pomes, or aggregated nutlets, rarely achenes or aggregated achenes;

styles persistent or deciduous, not elongate (elongate in Gillenieae).

x

= 8, 9, 15, 17.

Photinia serratifolia

Rosaceae subfam. amygdaloideae

Phenology Flowering late Mar–Apr.
Habitat Fencerows, thickets, disturbed sites
Elevation 20–200 m (100–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; GA; LA; MS; TX; Asia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
HI; North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; Europe; Asia; Africa; Atlantic Islands (Madeira); Australia
Discussion

Four varieties of Photinia serratifolia are recorded in China; var. serratifolia occurs in the flora area and has leaf margins prominently serrate, entire only near the base (versus entire to shallowly and inconspicuously serrate in other varieties). Cultivars have been developed, however, differing in growth form, coloration, and leaf margins, and a formal identification to variety is problematic. Chinese photinia can grow larger than P. ×fraseri (‘red tip’) or Japanese photinia, and flowers appear before those of either.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Cyanogenic glycosides are usually present in Amygdaloideae; sorbitol is present.

The name Amygdaloideae Arnott (1832) has priority over Spiraeoideae Arnott (1832), used by D. Potter et al. (2007), because Amygdalaceae (1820) is an earlier conserved name.

Tribes 9, genera 55, species ca. 1300 (9 tribes, 38 genera, 361 species, including 20 hybrids, in the flora)

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 490. FNA vol. 9, p. 345. Author: Luc Brouillet.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Photinia Rosaceae
Sibling taxa
P. davidiana, P. glabra, P. villosa
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms Crataegus serratifolia
Name authority (Desfontaines) Kalkman: Blumea 21: 424. (1973) Arnott: Botany, 107. (1832)
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