Pyracantha coccinea
| Pyracantha coccinea | |
|---|---|
.JPG) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Pyracantha |
| Species: | P. coccinea |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyracantha coccinea | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Synonymy
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Pyracantha coccinea, the scarlet firethorn[2] is the European species of firethorn or red firethorn that has been cultivated in gardens since the late 16th century.[3]
Description
Vegetative characteristics
Pyracantha coccinea is an evergreen[4] or deciduous,[5] up to 2 m tall shrub[6] with stems bearing sharp thorns.[7]
Generative characteristics
The many-flowered inflorescence[8] bears white,[7] bisexual, 7-8 mm wide flowers.[4] The fruit is red, 5 mm wide, globose to egg-shaped.[6]
Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n = 34.[9]
Taxonomy
It was described by Max Joseph Roemer in 1847.[10]
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.[7] The specific epithet coccinea, from the Latin coccineus, means deep red.[11]
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.[1]
Uses
In England, since the late 18th century, it has been used to cover unsightly walls.[12]
Cultivars
- Pyracantha coccinea 'Kasan'.[13]
- 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.[14]
- Pyracantha coccinea 'Sparkler'.[15]
References
- 1 2 "Pyracantha coccinea M.Roem". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
- ↑ NRCS. "Pyracantha coccinea". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Pyracantha" notes that it does not appear in John Gerard's Herball of 1597 but was in gardens before 1629, when John Parkinson mentions it, as the "ever greene Hawthorne or prickly Corall tree".
- 1 2 Feuerdorn (Pyracantha coccinea). (n.d.). Baumkunde. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.baumkunde.de/Pyracantha_coccinea/
- ↑ Pyracantha coccinea. (n.d.). Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e940
- 1 2 Pyracantha coccinea M. Roem. (n.d.). InfoFlora the National Data and Information Center on the Swiss Flora. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.infoflora.ch/en/flora/pyracantha-coccinea.html
- 1 2 3 NC State University & N.C. A&T State University. (n.d.). Pyracantha coccinea. North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pyracantha-coccinea/
- ↑ Pyracantha coccinea Roem. (n.d.). Trees and Shrubs Online. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/pyracantha/pyracantha-coccinea/
- ↑ Pyracantha coccinea in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2026, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242417076
- ↑ Pyracantha coccinea M.Roem. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/730611-1
- ↑ Echeveria. (n.d.). International Crassulaceae Network. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel?akID=48&aaID=2&aID=1129
- ↑ Coats (1964) 1992.
- ↑ P. coccinea 'Kasan' at www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 30 Aug 2017.
- ↑ Coats (1964) 1992.
- ↑ P. coccinea 'Sparkler' at www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 30 Aug 2017.