Appearance

Growth form

A dense, spreading evergreen shrub up to about 10–12 ft (3–3.5 m) tall, with stiff, horizontal branches often tipped with sharp spines. Young twigs are coated in gray fuzz.

Leaves

Narrow, round-tipped leaves ½–2¼ in (1.3–5.7 cm) long, dark green above and gray-felted underneath, with few or no teeth.

Flowers

Small white flowers about ¼ in (6 mm) across, in flat-topped clusters about 2 in (5 cm) wide.

Fruit

Bright orange berries ¼–⅜ in (6–10 mm) across, slightly flattened on top, each with five seeds. They stay on the shrub through winter, longer than those of scarlet firethorn.

Look-alikes

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• Yards and hedges
• Roadsides
• Disturbed ground

Range

Native to western China. In the U.S. it's a landscape shrub that has gone wild in parts of California and is invasive in Hawaii.

Preferred conditions

In California, escaped plants turn up on disturbed ground, roadsides, coastal scrub, prairie, and streamside woods. New wild plants are rare outside the cool, moist conditions it likes best.

Life cycle

Seed dispersal

Birds eat the berries and spread the seeds far and wide.

Growing it

Care

Grown as an ornamental and often used for thorny security hedges.

Toxicity

Leaves, fruit, and seeds contain compounds that release cyanide, which makes the berries bitter. People don't eat them.

Connected species

Ties with other wildlife

Birds feed on the berries even though people find them inedible.

Conservation

Conservation

California's invasive plant council rates it "Limited": invasive, but with minor statewide impact.

Culture and stories

Culture and stories

• Pyracantha comes from Greek words for "fire" and "thorn," for the flame-colored berries and spiny branches—the same idea as the English name firethorn.