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Large-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus)

Large-leaved cotoneaster can form dense stands in Australian bushland, shading out native plants and preventing their regeneration. Its fruits can also poison people, dogs and livestock.

Key facts

Type: Weed, shrub.

Native to: South-western China, including Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA.

Other names: Broad-leaved Cotoneaster, Grey Leaf Cotoneaster, Grey Cotoneaster, Bright Bead Cotoneaster.

Best time to act: Look for flowers in late spring and early summer and ripe fruits mostly in early autumn; larger plants are preferably treated just after fruiting in summer to autumn.

Identification

  • An upright or arching, semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, usually 1–5 m tall and wide, with numerous stems often arising near the base.
  • Oval or obovate leaves are 2–8 cm long and 1.5–4 cm wide, with smooth, dark green upper surfaces and pale greenish-grey, hairy undersides that become less hairy with age.
  • Small white flowers grow in clusters of 20–60 along the branches.
  • The mature fruits are shiny, red, rounded to nearly rounded, hard-fleshy berries 5–7 mm across, usually containing two seeds.
  • Look-alike: Franchet’s cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii) has pink to pinkish-white flowers and orange-red fruits with three seeds; large-leaved cotoneaster has white flowers and bright red fruits usually containing two seeds.
  • Look-alike: Silver-leaved cotoneaster (Cotoneaster pannosus) has smaller leaves with greyish-green, somewhat hairy upper surfaces and dull, sometimes hairy fruits; large-leaved cotoneaster has larger leaves with smooth, dark green upper surfaces and bright red, smooth fruits.

Where it grows

In Australia it occurs mainly in populated areas of south-eastern temperate regions, in old gardens, woodlands, grasslands, coastal and riparian habitats, roadsides and waste areas, and is recorded in the ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

Why it matters

  • Dense stands can shade out native plants, displace native shrubs and prevent understorey and overstorey growth and regeneration.
  • The fruit is poisonous to people, dogs and livestock; it can cause gastroenteritis in people and contains cyanogenic glycosides that can cause poisoning in animals, especially cattle and sheep.
  • The species can act as a host for bacterial fireblight, a disease of orchards.

How it spreads

  • Birds eat the abundant fruits and disperse the highly viable seeds, sometimes over long distances into native habitats.
  • Other animals, including foxes, can disperse the seeds, and the plant can spread in dumped garden waste.
  • Stems or branches in contact with the ground can sucker after the plant is cut down, and cuttings can spread in garden waste.

Control options

  • Pull smaller plants and continue checking for seedlings throughout the year, as seeds can germinate year-round.
  • Remove, smother with mulch or black plastic, or spray carpets of seedlings; replant cleared sites quickly with dense, low-growing native shrubs.
  • Cut larger plants close to the ground and apply registered herbicide to the stump just after fruiting, preferably in summer to autumn; remove shoots that regrow.
  • Drill-and-fill or stem-injection treatment can be done in spring or early summer, before fruits mature in early autumn.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Cuttings can spread in garden waste, so do not dump plant material where it could establish in bushland.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Regional priority in 2 of 11 regions. Regional priority weed in Hunter, North West. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Permitted, not declared. Listed as a permitted organism in WA, so it can be brought in, but it is not a declared pest.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Declared pest, prohibited. It is a declared pest throughout the ACT. Dealing with it, such as selling, moving or keeping it, is prohibited.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources