Heteromeles arbutifolia
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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
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'Heteromeles arbutifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
Other taxa in genus
Editorial Note
Bean treated this species under the genus Photinia, in which it is still placed by many taxonomists, and POWO (11/4/2025). Tribe Maleae has a complex evolutionary history (discussed in the entry for Weniomeles), and the relationship between Heteromeles, Photinia and Stranvaesia (in particular) is still being debated. Different types of molecular study have offered competing interpretations of Heteromeles‘ taxonomic position, placing it either close to Photinia (Zhang et al. 2023), or as a sister clade to Cotoneaster (Wang et al. 2024). Either way, there is no apparent phyletic requirement for it to be sunk into Photinia.
An evergreen tree occasionally 30 ft high, or in cultivation more often a shrub, with downy young bark. Leaves stiff and leathery, 2 to 4 in. long, 3⁄4 to 11⁄2 in. wide, oblong, lanceolate or obovate, tapering at the base to a thick downy stalk 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. long, the margins set with stiff teeth, each tipped with a small black gland. Flowers produced very numerously in a large, flattish panicle, composed of corymbose clusters terminating the shoot, and in the axils of the uppermost leaves. Each flower is from 1⁄4 to 3⁄8 in. diameter; petals pure white; calyx-tube with glabrous, triangular lobes; stamens ten. Fruits about the size of holly berries, bright red, tasting like common haws.
Native of California; introduced by Menzies in 1796. It is a handsome evergreen, but unfortunately not reliably hardy. It may be grown on a wall, but is, of course, at its best in the open where the climate is suitable. In California the fruit-covered branches are used for Christmas decorations as we use holly.
