Late Cotoneaster

Shrubs evergreen, 1–3 m tall. Branchlets dark purplish brown to grayish brown, cylindric, initially densely yellow tomentose, glabrous when old. Petiole 4–8 mm, initially densely yellow tomentose, subglabrous when old; stipules linear-lanceolate, 4–5 mm, sparsely tomentose or glabrescent at fruiting; leaf blade obovate to elliptic, 2–4.5 × 1.2–2.8 cm, thickly leathery, midvein prominently raised abaxially and deeply impressed adaxially, lateral veins 7–10 pairs, abaxially densely yellow tomentose, adaxially lustrous, glabrous, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or acute and mucronate. Compound corymbs 3–5(–6) × 4–7 cm, densely many small flowered; rachis and pedicels densely yellow tomentose; bracts caducous, linear-lanceolate, 2–4 mm, slightly tomentose. Pedicel 1–2 mm. Flowers 4–5 mm in diam. Hypanthium campanulate, densely tomentose. Sepals triangular, 1.5–2 mm, apex acute. Petals spreading, white, broadly ovate or suborbicular, 2.5–3.5 × 2.5–3 mm, adaxially tomentulose near base, base shortly clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens 20, shorter than petals. Ovary tomentose apically; styles 2, free, nearly as long as stamens. Fruit red, obovoid, 4–6 × 4–5 mm, sparsely tomentulose, pyrenes 2. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Sep–Oct. 2n = 68*.

Guizhou, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.

Grassy slopes along river sides or thickets; 1800--2700 m.

Cotoneaster lacteus W. W. Smith; C. oligocarpus C. K. Schneider; C. smithii G. Klotz.