Narrowleaf Firethorn

Shrubs or small trees, to 4 m tall, often with thorny branches. Branchlets purplish brown when old, densely grayish yellow tomentose when young, glabrous when old. Petiole 1–2.5 mm or leaves sessile; leaf blade narrowly oblong to oblanceolate-oblong, 1.5–5 cm × 4–8 mm, abaxially densely gray tomentose, adaxially initially gray tomentose, soon glabrescent, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, apiculate, or emarginate. Compound corymb 2–4 cm diam., several flowered; peduncle densely gray tomentose; bracts caducous, lanceolate. Pedicel 1–2 mm, densely gray tomentose. Flowers ca. 2.5 mm in diam. Hypanthium campanulate, densely gray tomentose. Sepals triangular, 1–1.1 mm, abaxially densely gray tomentose, apex acute. Petals suborbicular, ca. 4 mm, apex rounded or emarginate. Stamens 20; filaments 1.5–2 mm. Ovary white tomentose; styles nearly as long as stamens. Pome reddish, depressed-globose, 5–6 mm in diam.; sepals persistent, erect. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Oct–Dec.

Guizhou, Hubei, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

Thickets on slopes, at roadsides; 1600--3000 m.

Cotoneaster angustifolius Franchet, Pl. Delavay. 221. 1890.