Cotoneaster
BUSH INVADER
Cotoneaster species
family: ROSACEAE
Description
- Perennial woody shrubs, mostly from China, growing from prostrate to 2-4m tall and wide, or more; hardy, fast growing, some deciduous; many formerly used as hedges.
- Flowers are small, white, often insignificant, densely clustered, highly attractive to bees, spring to summer.
- Fruit are numerous, in conspicuous clusters of small berries, orange to red, autumn into winter.
- The weediest Cotoneaster in the Mountains is Cotoneaster franchetii. Other seriously weedy species are C. pannosus, C. lacteus, C. glaucophyllus and C. horizontalis.
- Many other Cotoneaster species have weed potential.
Dispersal
Seeds are spread into bushland by fruit-eating birds.
Impact on Bushland
Cotoneaster will grow virtually anywhere a bird drops the seeds. Thickets under tall trees and other perching places displace local native plant species and shade the soil. Habitat is lost, and other weeds invade.
Distribution
Throughout the Blue Mountains.
Alternative Planting
Native Plants
Local Eucalypts eg Sydney Peppermint
(E. piperita) for Gang Gang Cockatoo food
Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) 8m
Lillypillies (Acmena smithii) to 10m
local Banksias such as Heath Banksia (Banksia ericifolia) to 4m, Old Man Banksia (B. serrata) to 3m
Exotic alternatives
Camellias
Viburnum species (but not V. tinus) for hedges
Control
As for Woody Weeds. Bag fruit. Send to tip.
Crimson Rosellas feasting on berries of
Cotoneaster horizontalis.
Cotoneaster franchetii invades the most sensitive bushland.
Cotoneaster lacteus
Cotoneaster franchetii: small dark deeply veined leaves, orange to red berries in small clusters.
Cotoneaster pannosus
