Cotoneaster ludlowii

Rosaceae Fortnight- Cotoneaster falconeri from Himachal-GSG23/Sept 2015 : 1 post by 1 author.

I am beginning a check on Cotoneasters posted on this site.  Unfortunately, I suspect a majority are misidentified.  Will be sending available images to Jeanette Fryer (on a CD she does not use e-mail).  She was co-author with the late Bertil Hylmo of ‘Cotoneasters’ (2009) – the most knowledgeable person on the genus.  She is always busy with other identification tasks so will certainly take weeks perhaps months before we hear but worth the wait. 

I hope her determinations (accurate identifications) will encourage members to take a greater interest in this neglected genus, photographing more species.   There is every possibility of locating species new to science within this genus.  

It makes sense, when those with specialist knowledge are available to name material to take full advantage. The present situation with the naming of Cotoneaters in Indian herbaria is in need of improvement.  Many specimens are very old and/or in poor condition, of a scrappy nature in the first place.

Thanks … I would be eagerly looking forward to the correct identity of the species in photograph.

Of course it is much quicker and easier to say which species a specimen is not rather than what it is. Cotoneaster certainly presents challenges. As mentioned it may take some time before I hear back from Jeanette as she invariably has a back-log of material to check. Do you have a approximate location and altitude for where this plant was photographed?  Also, any additional photos would be most helpful. There is a long and fine tradition of Forestry Officers taking an interest in the flora of Indian Himalaya. I have got to know a grandson of B.O.Coventry, a Conservator of Forests in NW Himalaya during the British days, who produced ‘Wild Flowers of Kashmir’.

Thanks for your quick response. Western Himalayan flora is sure very fascinating. Being in the field most of the time, we have little access to the literature and most of our identification is based on force-matching of species with the publications available at hand – the most commonly referred being the ‘Flowers of the Himalaya’. You are very right that many western Himalayan plant groups need more work – Saussurea, Berberis, Primulas, Gentians, Cotoneaster, Artemisia, Brassicaseae, Legumes being some of the prominent groups needing critical inputs. In as far as my ‘Cotoneaster falconeri’ (?) is concerned, the photograph is from Sangla valley in Kinnaur (about 3300 m asl). There are some more Cotoneaster species from the Cold deserts that I have photographed over the years, but are awaiting sorting out. I’ll try to do so in the coming days. 

To me appears closer to images by … from Himachal at Cotoneaster ludlowii G.Klotz