firethorn

/fuyeur"thawrn'/, n.

any of several evergreen, thorny Asian shrubs belonging to the genus Pyracantha, of the rose family, many species of which are cultivated for their foliage and ornamental fruits.

[1905-10, Amer.]

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▪ plant

 (Pyracantha), any of a genus of usually thorny evergreen shrubs, in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to southeastern Europe and Asia. Firethorns are planted as ornamentals for their showy, berrylike fruits; they are also used as hedges and are often espaliered (trained to grow flat against walls and fences). They have small oval leaves on short leafstalks and clusters of small white flowers followed by orange to reddish fruits that cling to the stems well into winter.

      The European Pyracantha coccinea, up to 4.5 m (15 feet) tall, has provided many varieties of horticultural interest. Of similar height are P. atalantioides and P. fortuneana, from China, both of which bear clusters of scarlet fruits. P. koidzumii, from Taiwan, is densely branched, with red-purple young twigs and orange-scarlet fruit. The Himalyan P. crenulata, up to 6 m (19 feet) high, can be trained as a small tree.

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