What is "cotoneaster"

n. Any of several erect or creeping shrubs, of the genus (taxlink Cotoneaster genus noshow=1), that have pinkish flowers and red berries.

n. any shrub of the genus Cotoneaster: erect or creeping shrubs having richly colored autumn foliage and many small white to pinkish flowers followed by tiny red or black fruits

Cotoneaster is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region (temperate Asia, Europe, north Africa), with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China and the Himalayas. They are related to hawthorns (Crataegus), firethorns (Pyracantha), photinias (Photinia) and rowans (Sorbus).

Depending on the species definition used, between 70 and 300 different species of Cotoneaster are described, with many apomictic microspecies treated as species by some authors, but only as varieties by others.

The majority of species are shrubs from tall, varying from ground-hugging prostrate plants to erect shrubs; a few, notably C. frigidus, are small trees up to tall and trunk diameter. The prostrate species are mostly alpine plants growing at high altitudes (e.g. C. integrifolius, which grows at in the Himalayas), while the larger species occur in scrub and woodland gaps at lower altitudes.