I have a special fondness for cotoneasters, though I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps it’s because they offer something of interest in every season, or simply because they don’t receive as much attention as other plant groups. Either way, I seem to spend a fair amount of time writing about them on this blog, and longer still roaming the city, taking samples and vexing myself over their identification.

Cotoneasters are often considered one of the “trickier” plant groups to identify, and, as a result, are under-recorded across much of the UK, including here in Tyneside. Yet, they are fast becoming a notable part of our urban flora, and their diversity makes them deserving of more focused attention. Particularly given the fact that some species – including C. horizontalis and C. microphyllus – show a tendency to become invasive under specific circumstances.

This brief “cotoneaster guide” aims to highlight the distribution and diversity of the cotoneaster species found in Newcastle and North Tyneside. It is not an exhaustive list —there are undoubtedly more species out there waiting to be discovered— but it aims to provide information on localised distributions for interested botanists, whether local or farther afield.

Within this PDF, you’ll find maps, identification tips, and general habitat observations. However, this should not be considered a full “guide.” For that, I recommend Cotoneasters: A Comprehensive Guide to Shrubs for Flowers, Fruit, and Foliage by Fryer and Hylmö (2009), which remains the best resource on this group. Other fantastic resources, likely to be of help to botanists, include The Alien Plants of Belgium and of course, Stace’s New Flora of the British Isles.

If you’d like to share a Cotoneaster record, feel free to email me at jamesmcommon@gmail.com or add your sighting to iRecord, where it will be picked up by a local vice-county recorder.