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.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".
Description
Vegetative characteristics Pyracantha coccinea is an evergreenFeuerdorn (Pyracantha coccinea). (n.d.). Baumkunde. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.baumkunde.de/Pyracantha_coccinea/ or deciduous,Pyracantha coccinea. (n.d.). Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e940 up to 2 m tall shrubPyracantha 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 with stems bearing sharp thorns. Generative characteristics The many-flowered inflorescencePyracantha coccinea Roem. (n.d.). Trees and Shrubs Online. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/pyracantha/pyracantha-coccinea/ 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.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
Taxonomy It was described by Max Joseph Roemer in 1847.Pyracantha coccinea M.Roem. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/730611-1 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.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/ The specific epithet coccinea, from the Latin coccineus, means deep red.Echeveria. (n.d.). International Crassulaceae Network. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel?akID=48&aaID=2&aID=1129
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.Coats (1964) 1992.
Cultivars Pyracantha coccinea 'Kasan'.P. coccinea 'Kasan' at www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 30 Aug 2017. 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.Coats (1964) 1992. Pyracantha coccinea 'Sparkler'.P. coccinea 'Sparkler' at www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 30 Aug 2017.
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