Invasiveness Assessment - Velvet cotoneaster (Cotoneaster pannosus) in Victoria
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Plant invasiveness is determined by evaluating a plant’s biological and ecological characteristics against criteria that encompass establishment requirements, growth rate and competitive ability, methods of reproduction, and dispersal mechanisms.
| Each characteristic, or criterion, is assessed against a list of intensity ratings. Depending upon information found, a rating of Low, Medium Low, Medium High or High is assigned to that criterion. Where no data is available to answer a criterion, a rating of medium (M) is applied. A description of the invasiveness criteria and intensity ratings used in this process can be viewed here. |
The following table provides information on the invasiveness of Velvet cotoneaster.
A more detailed description of the methodology of the Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method can be viewed below:
Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (PDF - 630 KB)
Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (DOC - 1 MB)
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Common Name: Velvet cotoneaster.
Scientific name: Cotoneaster pannosus
| Question | Comments | Rating | Confidence |
| Establishment | |||
| Germination requirements? | For propagation of cotoneaster species, seed is recommended to be sown in autumn, or stratified over winter and then sown under glass in spring (Griffths 1992). Therefore there is a seasonal component to the germination of cotoneaster species. | MH | MH |
| Establishment requirements? | The species is reported to invade shaded habitats such as damp sclerophyll forest (Carr, Yugovic & Robinson 1992). The species is therefore considered to be able to establish under at least moderate canopy. | MH | MH |
| How much disturbance is required? | The species is reported to invade relatively intact habitats such as damp sclerophyll forest and riparian vegetation (Carr, Yugovic & Robinson 1992). | MH | MH |
 | |||
| Life form? | Other; large shrub (Carr, Yugovic & Robinson 1992). | L | MH |
| Allelopathic properties? | There are no reports of allelopathy for this species, however C. salicifolius has been reported to have allelopathic potential (Morita, Ito & Harada 2005). | M | L |
| Tolerates herb pressure? | Unknown. | M | L |
| Normal growth rate? | Not specifically known, however Cotoneaster species in general are known to be fast growing (Bossard, Randell & Hoshovsky 2000). | MH | M |
| Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? | Hardy to Zone 7a, tolerant of temperatures to –17°C (Dave’s Garden 2007). Reported to thrive in drought soils (Weber 2003). Therefore the species is considered tolerant of drought. Unknown tolerance to waterlogging, salinity and fire. | MH | M |
| Reproduction | |||
| Reproductive system | Reproduces by producing seed which can occur through apomixes or pollination and may be able to hybridise with other cotoneaster species (Randall & Marinelli 1996). Cotoneaster species are capable of layering, where branches that are in constant contact with the ground can set root (Bossard, Randell & Hoshovsky 2000). | H | MH |
| Number of propagules produced? | Each fruit contains two seeds (Weber 2003). The potential fruit yield for this species is not specifically known, however cotoneaster species generally have abundant fruit crops (Bossard, Randell & Hoshovsky 2000; Muyt 2001). The species is therefore considered to have the potential to produce more than 2000 seeds annually. | H | M |
| Propagule longevity? | Unknown. | M | L |
| Reproductive period? | Cotoneaster species are reported to live for over 20 years (Bossard, Randell & Hoshovsky 2000). | H | M |
| Time to reproductive maturity? | Unknown. | M | L |
| Dispersal | |||
| Number of mechanisms? | Bird dispersed (Blood 2001). Blackbirds have been reported to be a major dispersal agent in central Victoria (Rozefelds et al 1999). | H | H |
| How far do they disperse? | The species is bird dispersed, however as the species is reported by Rozefelds et al (1999) to largely be dispersed by blackbirds, which have a territory size less than 1 ha they are not likely to disperse the seeds far (Bowman 2003). Cotoneaster species are however reported by (Loyn & French 1991) to be dispersed by Grey Currawongs, which can potentially disperse seeds many kilometres (Spennemann & Allen 2000). | H | MH |
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