Cranberry Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster apiculatus

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

▲▼ mature shrubs

▲ rounded foliage

▲▼fruit

Location on campus:  in raised mound bed at southeast corner of lawn area south of Plaster Student Union

Cotoneaster apiculatus: Cranberry Cotoneaster

·         leaves deciduous, alternate, simple, orbicular with entire, wavy margins; leaves 1/4-3/4" long and wide; shiny dark green and glabrous above and slightly lighter green below

·         stems are reddish purple with slight pubescence when young; gray-brown and rough-textured with age -  has a cherry-flavored odor when stems are crushed

·         flowers small, pinkish in late spring at the nodes of previous-season=s growth

·         fruit is a cranberry-red 1/4-1/3" pome

·         grows 3' tall by 3-6' wide with arching branches which create a mound of tangled branches - good as a groundcover or massed shrub

·         prefers general cotoneaster culture

·         slow to medium growth rate