Canary flora > Exotic and ornamental
Pyracantha coccinea
Pyracantha coccinea M. Roem.
Scarlet Firethorn, Egyptian Thorn, Everlasting Thorn, Fire Bus
Shrub up to 4 m high, with evergreen leaves and abundant branching,
armed with long, sharp thorns. The branches are thin, woody and brittle,
covered with thick, resistant greyish bark.
Its small leaves, about 5 cm long, are simple, petiolate, leathery, more or less lanceolate, entire on the margins and with an obtuse to acute apex. Their colour is bright green on the upper side, with the veins not very marked, and paler on the underside, with a prominent midrib.
Its small leaves, about 5 cm long, are simple, petiolate, leathery, more or less lanceolate, entire on the margins and with an obtuse to acute apex. Their colour is bright green on the upper side, with the veins not very marked, and paler on the underside, with a prominent midrib.
The creamy white flowers develop in dense but disorderly axillary
inflorescences. Each flower has five rounded petals, extended and
narrowed at the base, and twenty stamens with yellow anthers.
When ripe they produce abundant subglobose berries about 5 mm in diameter, reddish-orange in colour and gathered in axillary clusters, supported by thin peduncles of variable length; inside they contain a few small prismatic seeds, very hard and shiny black in colour.
The fruits are so abundant that they often cover the branches almost completely.
When ripe they produce abundant subglobose berries about 5 mm in diameter, reddish-orange in colour and gathered in axillary clusters, supported by thin peduncles of variable length; inside they contain a few small prismatic seeds, very hard and shiny black in colour.
The fruits are so abundant that they often cover the branches almost completely.
It flowers in spring, fruiting during the winter months. Reproduction is
by seed, or by woody cuttings during the summer.
Native to southern Europe and Asia Minor, this plant is grown in the Canary Islands for clearly ornamental purposes. It adapts very well to the dry and luminous environments of coastal and midland areas, although in more arid areas it needs to be watered regularly.
Native to southern Europe and Asia Minor, this plant is grown in the Canary Islands for clearly ornamental purposes. It adapts very well to the dry and luminous environments of coastal and midland areas, although in more arid areas it needs to be watered regularly.
