How do you recognise Milkflower cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lacteus)?

Leaf

Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Milkflower cotoneaster

Cotoneaster lacteus W.W.Sm.

Also known as: Late cotoneaster, Parney's cotoneaster

Family: Rosaceae

2 to 4 m tall

Informal or clipped hedges, banks; very hardy and tolerant of pollution

Flowering: June

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to about -15°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its dense clusters of orange-red berries often persist well into winter, feeding blackbirds and thrushes when food becomes scarce elsewhere. Wall cotoneaster grows in branches spread flat, arranged in a herringbone pattern, with small round leaves, whereas milkflower cotoneaster is an upright, bushy shrub with large, evergreen, puckered leaves.

🍃 Leaves

Evergreen to semi-evergreen, ovate, puckered, underside downy

🌸 Flowers

Small, white, in dense corymbs

🍎 Fruits

Small orange-red berries in very full clusters, persisting all winter

🪵 Bark

Grey-brown, arching twigs

🗺️ Distribution

Native to China

🐝 Value for pollinators

Flowers very rich in honey, widely visited by bees in June

✂️ Horticultural uses

Country hedge with decorative berries, excellent winter larder for birds

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Berries mildly toxic in large quantity

⚠️ Look-alike species

Milkflower cotoneaster

Cotoneaster lacteus

Wall cotoneaster

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Wall cotoneaster grows in branches spread flat, arranged in a herringbone pattern, with small round leaves, whereas milkflower cotoneaster is an upright, bushy shrub with large, evergreen, puckered leaves.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.