Cotoneaster - Nomenclature and Classification

Nomenclature and Classification

The genus name Cotoneaster derives from cotone, an old Latin name for the quince, and the suffix -aster, 'resembling'. The name is correctly masculine, though in some older works it was wrongly treated as feminine, resulting in different name endings for many of the species (e.g.Cotoneaster integerrima instead of Cotoneaster integerrimus).

The genus is often divided into two or more sections, though the situation is complicated by hybridisation:

• Cotoneaster sect. Cotoneaster (syn. sect. Orthopetalum). Flowers solitary or up to 6 together; petals forward-pointing, often tinged pink. Mostly smaller shrubs.
• Cotoneaster sect. Chaenopetalum. Flowers more than 20 together in corymbs; petals opening flat, creamy white. Mostly larger shrubs.