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Chinese firethorn

Formosa firethorn, Taiwan firethorn

Habit Plants 10–30 dm. Plants 5–40 dm.
Stems

thorns sparse to abundant;

young twigs rusty-hairy (gray-hairy in 1 variation), glabrescent.

thorns sparse to abundant;

young twigs reddish brown-hairy, glabrescent.

Leaves

stipules 3–8 mm;

petiole 2–5 mm;

blade oblanceolate or obovate, 1.5–6 × 0.5–2.5 cm, base cuneate, margins remotely serrulate or crenulate, often entire proximally, apex obtuse, emarginate, or short-apiculate, surfaces glabrate.

stipules 3–8 mm;

petiole 1–3 mm;

blade oblanceolate or narrowly obovate, 2.5–4.5 × 0.5–1.2 cm, base cuneate, margins entire, rarely with minute teeth near apices, apex truncate or retuse, rarely rounded, abaxial surface brown-hairy, becoming glabrate and pale green, not glaucescent, adaxial glabrous.

Inflorescences

3–4 cm diam.

3–4 cm diam.

Pedicels

2–8 mm, usually glabrate, rarely sparsely appressed brown- or gray-hairy.

5–12 mm, sparsely brown-hairy.

Flowers

4–12 mm diam.;

hypanthium glabrate, rarely slightly hairy;

sepals triangular, 1–1.5 mm, apex obtuse;

petals suborbiculate, 3–4 mm, apex rounded.

8–10 mm diam.;

hypanthium densely hairy;

calyx brown- or yellowish brown-puberulent when young, glabrescent, sepals triangular, 1–1.3 mm, apex acute;

petals suborbiculate, 3–4 mm, apex slightly emarginate.

Pomes

orange-red to dark red, 3–6 mm diam.;

pedicels 2–10 mm.

orange-red, 4–7 mm diam.;

pedicels 5–13 mm.

2n

= 34 (China).

Pyracantha fortuneana

Pyracantha koidzumii

Phenology Flowering Feb–May; fruiting Sep–Mar. Flowering Feb–May; fruiting Jul–Feb.
Habitat Disturbed ground, roadsides, canyons, woodland edges, open forests, riparian areas Disturbed forests, beach bluffs, riparian areas, thickets, roadsides
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CA; FL; GA; LA; NC; OR; SC; TX; WA; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Europe (England), Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; FL; GA; LA; MS; OK; SC; TX; e Asia (Taiwan) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (Hawaii), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pyracantha fortuneana is native to central and western China. It is variable in the amount of toothing on the leaf blades and color of the hairs on new growth. Plants having grayish hairs on young twigs rather than the usual rusty or brownish hairs have been attributed to the taxon P. rogersiana, which has also been interpreted as a variety of P. crenulata. It is insufficiently distinct to separate from P. fortuneana among the specimens examined.

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

Occasional specimens of Pyracantha fortuneana with sparsely toothed leaf margins can be difficult to distinguish from P. koidzumii, and some plants in California may be of hybrid origin or represent escapes of horticultural selections.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 469. FNA vol. 9, p. 471.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Pyracantha Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Pyracantha
Sibling taxa
P. angustifolia, P. atalantioides, P. coccinea, P. crenulata, P. koidzumii
P. angustifolia, P. atalantioides, P. coccinea, P. crenulata, P. fortuneana
Synonyms Photinia fortuneana, P. crenatoserrata, P. crenulata var. rogersiana, P. rogersiana, P. yunnanensis Cotoneaster koidzumii
Name authority (Maximowicz) H. L. Li: J. Arnold Arbor. 25: 420. (1944) (Hayata) Rehder: J. Arnold Arbor. 1: 261. (1920)
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