Cotoneaster horizontalis OUTLAWED!

[Jonners]

Originally Posted by Cheryl

Sorry if this is a silly question - but why this particular Cotoneaster?

I have Cotoneaster dammeri in my garden and it too is fantastic for bees and hover flies when in flower.

It does spread like mad though, but by rootlets - not seen any seeded seedlings, but the birds don't seem to be particularly bothered by the berries - they get eaten but not stripped.

They have included the following cotoneasters:
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster bullatus
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster horizontalis
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster integrifolius
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster microphyllus
Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster simonsii

but yours isn't there. Perhaps it isn't as invasive as the ones listed

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Dutchess

lol!

How about a third time, for emphasis

D.

OK

This is a really pertinent article I've dug up out of the murky depths of google, it's a bit outdated but relevant I think:

First person: Non-native plants - Telegraph

Interesting point made about 'in the wild' not being properly defined under Sched 9

''Another reason to be worried is that "the wild" is not defined in law, as a Defra spokesman agrees. This makes the proposed legislation "a legal nonsense" in the view of Ken Thompson, of Sheffield University, an ecologist who disputes the orthodoxy that only native plants benefit wildlife''

Further bit of info I found (which all of you plant experts were probably already aware of!) we only have one indigenous species of Cotoneaster in the Uk - in Wales, and unsurprisingly called C.cambricus (Wild Cotoneaster) and actually pretty scarce and localised.

But look at all the varieties/species!
Cotoneaster: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

Originally Posted by Jonners

but yours isn't there. Perhaps it isn't as invasive as the ones listed

Cheryl, Jonners is right by the looks of it:

From the link I posted up thread ie Annex b to Sched 9 (scroll down to page 22)

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pet...ia-annex-b.pdf

''Cotoneaster species are widely planted in gardens and in amenity planting. The consultation proposed listing all cotoneaster species; however, responses to the consultation opposed listing whole genera. Respondents held the view that only invasive species should be added to the Schedule particularly as cotoneasters are used in gardening and amenity planting. Therefore, only those 5 species which JNCC and other key stakeholders have advised as being particularly invasive are to be added to Schedule 9 at this time.''

[JennyS]

What gets me about the invasive plants furore is that there is little or no mention of the loss of acreage and biodiversity caused by invasive native species.

I'm not disputing that a small minority of garden escapes can cause problems and that some species, particularly aquatics, shouldn't be available for sale but legislators please have a wider perspective!

I look at the fields round where I live and every year more and more ground disappears under bracken, brambles, gorse and rushes ........ and silage-friendly arable fields.

'Invasive aliens' seem to be politically correct buzz-words that attract funding and research but ignore the fact that a lot of habitat and species loss is down to EEC driven agri-business, building, road development and ultimately lack of public interest and awareness.

( Ooops - I have a feeling I might have gone off on a rant ..... should have gone to bed instead of hitting the Reply button)

[aeshna5]

Jenny I feel you have hit the nail on the head there- I feel very similarly + a couple of prominenet botanists made the same point about a handful of natives actually being more of a problem than most alien species.

[pleb]

Just for interest, a list of Cotoneasters recorded from the wild reads as follows:

BSBI Maps Scheme

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Species names containing 'cotoneaster'

Cotoneaster 'Hybridus Pendulus' C. salicifolius x dammeri (Weeping Cotoneaster)
Cotoneaster adpressus Creeping Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster affinis Purpleberry Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster amoenus Beautiful Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster apiculatus Apiculate Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster ascendens Ascending Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster astrophoros Starry Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster atropurpureus Purple-flowered Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster bacillaris Open-fruited Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster boisianus Bois's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster bullatus Hollyberry Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster cambricus Wild Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster cashmiriensis Kashmir Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster cochleatus Yunnan Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster congestus Congested Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster conspicuus Tibetan Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster cooperi Cooper's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster dammeri Bearberry Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster dielsianus Diel's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster divaricatus Spreading Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster ellipticus Lindley's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster fangianus Fang's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster franchetii Franchet's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster frigidus Tree Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster glabratus Glabrous cotoneaster
Cotoneaster glaucophyllus Glaucous cotoneaster
Cotoneaster henryanus Henry's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster hissaricus Round-leaved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster hjelmqvistii Hjelmquist's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster horizontalis Wallspray
Cotoneaster hsingshangensis Hsing-Shan Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster hylmoei Hylmo's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster ignescens Firebird cotoneaster
Cotoneaster ignotus Black-grape Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster induratus Hardy cotoneaster
Cotoneaster insculptus Engraved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster integrifolius Entire-leaved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster lacteus Late Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster laetevirens Ampfield Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster linearifolius Thyme-leaved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster lucidus Shiny Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster mairei Maire's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster marginatus Fringed Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster microphyllus agg. Wild Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster monopyrenus One-stoned Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster moupinensis Moupin Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster mucronatus Mucronate Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster nanshan Dwarf Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster nitens Few-flowered Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster nitidus Distichous Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster obscurus Obscure Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster obtusus Dartford Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster pannosus Silverleaf Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster perpusillus Slender cotoneaster
Cotoneaster prostratus Procumbent Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster pseudoambiguus Kangting Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster rehderi Bullate Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster rotundifolius Round-leaved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster salicifolius Willow-leaved Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster sanguineus
Cotoneaster sherriffii Sherriff's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster simonsii Khasia Berry
Cotoneaster sp.
Cotoneaster splendens Showy Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster sternianus Stern's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster tengyuehensis Tengyueh Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster tomentellus Short-felted Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster transens Godalming Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster villosulus Lleyn Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster vilmorinianus Vilmorin's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster wardii Ward's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster x suecicus Swedish Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster x watereri Waterer's Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster zabelii Cherryred Cotoneaster

[davidbr]

Indeed so, pleb - I couldn't understand why C. horizontalis was especially being singled out, but you've made the point first

In the time that I've been photographing plants in the UK countryside, I've recorded 25 species of Cotoneaster naturalised, but that's barely a third of the total that have occurred out there. C. horizontalis isn't even the commonest that occurs in my local area. This year, I'm sure I'll add a bare minimum of a dozen more.

I've got a particular fascination with introduced species, anyway, so I'm going to be biased, but cotoneasters don't strike me as being dangerous enough to get into a panic about. They're a part of the modern urban flora, and trying to eradicate them will be as effective as the old euphamism, erm, "urinating" into the wind

[ceterach]

A number of the prostrate Cotoneaster species have for a very long time, caused trouble in exposed chalk habitat where the soil is very thin. These are places with a very high native species diversity, at leats partially because of the very low soil fertility. I know of several SSSIs on the North Downs where Cotoneaster bashes have had to take place to eradicate large swathes of C.horizontalis. It has a nasty, easily demonstrated habit of trapping large amounts of natural debris, so raising the fertility of the soil. When present in sufficient numbers this can have a dramatic effect on the flora.

Cut them down and burn them. As someone stated on another thread, natural habitat is not/should not be a garden.

All the best

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by ceterach

It has a nasty, easily demonstrated habit of trapping large amounts of natural debris, so raising the fertility of the soil. When present in sufficient numbers this can have a dramatic effect on the flora.

Cut them down and burn them. As someone stated on another thread, natural habitat is not/should not be a garden.

All the best

as a countryside manager personally i'd prefer cut them down and take them off site for chipping and compost - burning them on sites concentrate little hotspots of high nutrient level where the bonfires were, which in an sssi context is less than desirable

[Cobnut]

Hi All,

I would love to ban Cotoneaster horizontalis from all supermarket car parks in the UK!:

If my experiences as Tree/Landscape Officer are anything to go by this legislation is going to be enforced by the invisible man!

Nobody gives a hoot about Japaneses knot-weed that cause millions of pounds worth of damage so who is going to give a monkeys about Cotoneaster?