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Pyracantha coccinea, the scarlet firethorn is the European species of firethorn or red firethorn that has been cultivated in gardens since the late 16th century.
Description
Vegetative characteristics
Pyracantha coccinea is an evergreen or deciduous, up to 2 m tall shrub with stems bearing sharp thorns.
Generative characteristics
The many-flowered inflorescence bears white, bisexual, 7-8 mm wide flowers. The fruit is red, 5 mm wide, globose to egg-shaped.
Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n = 34.
Taxonomy
It was described by Max Joseph Roemer in 1847.
Etymology
The genus name Pyracantha, from the Greek pyr meaning fire and akantha meaning thorn, refers to the thorny branches and the bright red fruit. The specific epithet coccinea, from the Latin coccineus, means deep red.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to Albania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Iran, Italy, Crimean Peninsula, Lebanon, Syria, North Caucasus, Balkan Peninsula, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, and Turkey.
Uses
In England, since the late 18th century, it has been used to cover unsightly walls.
Cultivars
- Pyracantha coccinea 'Kasan'.
- Pyracantha coccinea 'Lalandei'. About 1874, M. Lalande, a nurseryman in Angers, France, selected from seedlings of P. coccinea an improved form, more freely berrying than the type. A sport has produced a yellow-berried form. These, and further selections, have largely ousted the ordinary form from nursery stock.
- Pyracantha coccinea 'Sparkler'.
References
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