Cotoneaster sternianus (Turrill) Boom, Jaarb. Ned. Dendrol. Ver. 20: 81, 1957.
Section Franchetioides, series Sterniani.
Origin: Burma and China (NW Yunnan).
Presence in western Europe: Naturalized in Great Britain (Stace 2010).
Cultivation in Belgium and the Netherlands: “very common” (De Koning & al. 2000).
Comparative taxonomy: Species tentatively included in Cotoneaster franchetii Bois by Dickoré & Kasperek (2010) and surprisingly omitted, even as a synonym, in the Flora of China (Lingdi & Brach 2003).
Illustrations: Grevtsova (1999), Fryer & Hylmö (2009), Stace (2010). See also: http://www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk/C-Flowers/Cotoneaster,%20Stern%27s.htm.
Cotoneaster sternianus was apparently first collected in an abandoned quarry in Ampsin (Amay) in 1998. However, it is by far best known in Belgium from Gent (“Groene Vallei”) where it is abundantly naturalized in spontaneous urban woodland on a former demolition site. It has been recorded in rather few but widely scattered other localities, for instance Brugge, Gentbrugge, Menen, Mortsel, Zonhoven, etc. (most often single bushes and merely ephemeral).
Cotoneaster sternianus seems to be most prevalent in (half-) shady places in Belgium. It usually grows on calcareous soils but has also been recorded on the verge of acidic woodland (Tillegembos near Brugge). Nearly all records are from deciduous scrub- or woodland, a few from old walls (in Menen, for instance). Cotoneaster sternianus was not yet recorded from coastal dunes in Belgium.
This species is still often treated as a variety of Cotoneaster franchetii Bois (as var. sternianus Turrill) or is even merely included in the latter (Dickoré & Kasperek 2010). However, according to Klotz (1957) Cotoneaster sternianus is more closely related to C. wardii W.W. Smith than it is to C. franchetii (see also Stace 2010). As a rule, Cotoneaster sternianus is best distinguished from C. franchetii by its white anthers and larger leaves.
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Cotoneaster sternianus |
C. franchetii |
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Leaves ca. 37-49 mm long |
Leaves ca. 25-37 mm long |
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Anthers white with pink border |
Anthers pink to purple |
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Nutlets usually 3-4 per berry |
Nutlets usually 3 per berry |
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Apiculate calyx lobes with hairless point ca. 0,2 mm long |
Apiculate calyx lobes with hairless point at least 0,5 mm long |
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Literature
De Koning J., Van Den Broek J.W., Van De Laar H.J. & Fortgens G. (2000) Nederlandse Dendrologie (13e druk, geheel herzien). Veenman & Zonen, Ede: 585 p.
Dickoré W.B. & Kasperek G. (2010) Species of Cotoneaster (Rosaceae, Maloideae) indigenous to, naturalising or commonly cultivated in Central Europe. Willdenowia 40: 13-45 [available online at: http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~kasperek/papers/dickore_kasperek_2010.pdf].
Fryer J. & Hylmö B. (2009) Cotoneasters. A comprehensive guide to shrubs for flowers, fruit, and foliage. Timber Press, Portland-London: 344 p.
Grevtsova A. (1999) Atlas Cotoneasters. Cotoneaster (Medic.) Bauhin. Kiev, House Orchard, Truck-Garden: 372 p.
Klotz G. (1957) Übersicht über die in Kultur befindlichen Cotoneaster-Arten. Wiss. Z. Univ. Halle, Math.-Nat. 6(6): 945-982.
Lingdi L. & Brach A.R. (2003) Cotoneaster. In: Wu Z.Y. & Raven P.H. (eds.), Flora of China, vol. 9. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis: 85-108 [available online at: http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF09/Cotoneaster.PDF].
Stace C. (2010) New Flora of the British Isles, 3th ed.: XXXII + 1232 p. Cambridge University Press.