Photinia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordoo: Rosales

Familia: Rosaceae
Subfamilia: Amygdaloideae
Tribus: Maleae
Subtribus: Malinae
Genus: Photinia
Species: P. anlungensis – P. arbutifolia – P. berberidifolia – P. chihsiniana – P. chingiana – P. chingshuiensis – P. crassifolia – P. cucphuongensis – P. davidiana – P. fokienensis – P. glabra – P. griffithii – P. hirsuta – P. impressivena – P. integrifolia – P. lanuginosa – P. lasiogyna – P. lindleyana – P. lochengensis – P. loriformis – P. megaphylla – P. prionophylla – P. prunifolia – P. pustulata – P. serratifolia – P. sorbifolia – P. stenophylla – P. taishunensis – P. tushanensis – P. undulata – P. wrightiana – P. zhejiangensis
Nothospecies: P. × fraseri
Paleospecies: †P. pageae
Name

Photinia Lindl., Bot. Reg. 6: t. 491. (1820), nom. cons.

Type species: P. glabra (Thunb.) Franch. & Sav. (P. serrulata Lindl., nom. illeg.)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Heteromeles M.Roem.
Myriomeles (Lindl.) Lindl.
× Stranvinia Coombes

References

Lindley, J. 1820. Botanical Register; Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants Cultivated in British Gardens; with their History and Mode of Treatment Bot. Reg. 6: t. 491.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Photinia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec. 16. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Photinia. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 16 2021.
Liu, B.B., Hong, D.Y., Zhou, S.L., Xu, C., Dong, W.P., Johnson, G. & Wen, J. 2019. Phylogenomic analyses of the Photinia complex support the recognition of a new genus Phippsiomeles and the resurrection of a redefined Stranvaesia in Maleae (Rosaceae). Journal of Systematics and Evolution 57(6): 678-694. DOI: 10.1111/jse.12542 Open access Reference page.
Wei, G., Fan, Q., Zhang, X-Z., Liao, W.B., Wang, L.Y., Wei, W., Potter, D. 2020. Molecular reappraisal of relationships between Photinia, Stranvaesia and Heteromeles (Rosaceae, Maleae). Phytotaxa 447(2): 103-115. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.447.2.3 Paywall ResearchGate Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2021. Photinia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec. 16.

Vernacular names
čeština: Blýskalka
dansk: Glansmispel
Deutsch: Glanzmispeln
suomi: Punamarjat
日本語: カナメモチ
polski: Głogownik
русский: Фотиния
中文: 石楠属

Photinia (/foʊˈtɪniə, fə-/[1][2][3]) is a genus of about 40–60 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly, with the genera Heteromeles, Stranvaesia and Aronia sometimes included in Photinia.

They are a part of the rose family (Rosaceae) and related to the apple. The botanical genus name derives from the Greek word photeinos for shiny and refers to the often glossy leaves. Most species are evergreen, but deciduous species also occur. The small apple-shaped fruit has a size of 4 to 12 mm and forms in large quantities. They ripen in the fall and often remain hanging on the bush until well into the winter. The fruits are used as food by birds, which excrete the seeds with their droppings and thereby distribute the plant.

The natural range of these species is restricted to warm temperate Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and south to India and Thailand. They have, however, been widely cultivated throughout the world as ornamentals for their white flowers and red fruits.

The scientific name Photinia is also widely used as the common name. Another name sometimes used is "Christmas berry", but this name is a source of confusion, since it is commonly applied to plants in several genera including Heteromeles, Lycium, Schinus, and Ruscus. The name "photinia" also continues to be used for several species of small trees in the mountains of Mexico and Central America which had formerly been included in the genus Photinia.[4]

Description
Photinia × fraseri, showing the red colour of new growth contrasted to the glossy green older leaves

Photinias typically grow from 4–15 m tall, with a usually irregular crown of angular branches; the branches are often (not always) thorny. The leaves are alternate, entire or finely toothed, varying between species from 3–15 cm in length and 1.5–5 cm wide; the majority of species are evergreen but several are deciduous. The flowers are produced in early summer in dense terminal corymbs; each flower is 5–10 mm diameter, with five rounded white petals; they have a mild, hawthorn-like scent. The fruit is a small pome, 4–12 mm across, bright red and berry-like, produced large quantities, maturing in the fall and often persisting well into the winter. The fruit are consumed by birds, including thrushes, waxwings and starlings; the seeds are dispersed in their droppings. Photinia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including common emerald, feathered thorn and setaceous Hebrew character. Photinias are subject to leaf blight. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/photinia-blight-43033.html.
Taxonomy

Some botanists also include the closely related North American species Heteromeles arbutifolia in Photinia — as Photinia arbutifolia. The genus Stranvaesia is so similar in morphology to Photinia that its species have sometimes been included within it,[5][6] but recent molecular data[7] indicate that the two genera are not related. The genus Aronia has been included in Photinia in some classifications,[8] but recent molecular data confirm that these genera are not closely related.[7] Other close relatives include the firethorns (Pyracantha), cotoneasters (Cotoneaster) and hawthorns (Crataegus).

A number of species have been moved to the separate genus Stranvaesia including P. amphidoxa, P. davidiana, P. nussia, and P. tomentosa.
Uses
Flower of an ornamental shrub cultivar

Photinias are very popular ornamental shrubs, grown for their fruit and foliage. Numerous hybrids and cultivars are available; several of the cultivars are selected for their strikingly bright red young leaves in spring and summer. The most widely planted are:

Photinia × fraseri (P. glabra × P. serratifolia) - red tip photinia, Christmas berry[9]

Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' - probably the most widely planted of all, this cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit[9][10]
Photinia × fraseri 'Little Red Robin', a plant similar to 'Red Robin', but dwarf in stature with an ultimate height/spread of around 2–3 ft
Photinia × fraseri 'Camilvy'
Photinia × fraseri 'Curly Fantasy'
Photinia × fraseri 'Super Hedger' - a newer hybrid with strong upright growth
Photinia × fraseri 'Pink Marble' also known as 'Cassini', a new cultivar with rose-pink tinted new growth and a creamy-white variegated margin on the leaves
Photinia × fraseri 'Robusta'[11]

Photinia 'Redstart' (Stranvaesia davidiana × P. × fraseri)
Photinia 'Palette' (parentage unknown)
Photinia davidiana 'Fructu Luteo' (fruit yellow)
Photinia davidiana 'Prostrata' (a low-growing form)

Toxicity

Some varieties of Photinia are toxic due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides in the vacuoles of foliage and fruit cells.[12] When the leaves are chewed these compounds are released and are rapidly converted to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) which blocks cellular respiration. The amount of HCN produced varies considerably between taxa, and is in general greatest in young leaves.[13] Ruminants are particularly affected by cyanogenic glycosides because the first stage of their digestive system (the rumen) provides better conditions for liberating HCN than the stomachs of monogastric vertebrates.[14]
Species list

Photinia anlungensis
Photinia arguta (syn. Pourthiaea arguta)
Photinia beauverdiana (syn. Pourthiaea beauverdiana)
Photinia beckii
Photinia benthamiana (syn. Pourthiaea benthamiana)
Photinia berberidifolia
Photinia bergerae
Photinia blinii
Photinia bodinieri
Photinia calleryana (syn. Pourthiaea calleryana)
Photinia callosa
Photinia chihsiniana
Photinia chingiana
Photinia chingshuiensis (syn. Pourthiaea chingshuiensis)
Photinia crassifolia
Photinia fokienensis
Photinia glabra - Japanese Photinia
Photinia glomerata
Photinia hirsuta
Photinia impressivena
Photinia integrifolia
Photinia komarovii
Photinia kwangsiensis
Photinia lanuginosa
Photinia lasiogyna
Photinia lasiopetala
Photinia lochengensis
Photinia loriformis
Photinia lucida (syn. Pourthiaea lucida)
Photinia megaphylla
Photinia niitakayamensis
Photinia obliqua
Photinia parvifolia (syn. Pourthiaea parvifolia)
Photinia pilosicalyx
Photinia podocarpifolia
Photinia prionophylla
Photinia prunifolia
Photinia raupingensis
Photinia schneideriana
Photinia serratifolia (syn. Photinia serrulata)
Photinia stenophylla
Photinia tsaii
Photinia tushanensis
Photinia villosa (syn. Pourthiaea villosa)
Photinia zhejiangensis

References

Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
"Photinia". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
"Photinia". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
Phipps, J.B. (1992). "Heteromeles and Photinia (Rosaceae subfam. Maloideae) of Mexico and Central America". Canadian Journal of Botany. 70 (11): 2138–62. doi:10.1139/b92-266.
Vidal, J.E. (1965). "Notes sur quelques Rosacées Asiatique (II) (Photinia, Stranvaesia)". Adansonia. 5: 221–237.
Kalkman, C. (1973). "The Malesian species of the subfamily Maloideae (Rosaceae)" (PDF). Blumea. 21: 413–442.
Campbell, C.S.; Evans, R.C.; Morgan, D.R.; Dickinson, T.A.; Arsenault, M.P. (2007). "Phylogeny of subtribe Pyrinae (formerly the Maloideae, Rosaceae): Limited resolution of a complex evolutionary history". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 266 (1–2): 119–145. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.453.8954. doi:10.1007/s00606-007-0545-y. S2CID 13639534.
Robertson, K.R.; Phipps, J.B.; Rohrer, J.R.; Smith, P.G. (1991). "A synopsis of genera in Maloideae (Rosaceae)". Systematic Botany. 16 (2): 376–394. doi:10.2307/2419287. JSTOR 2419287.
"RHS Plant Selector - Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin'". Retrieved 26 May 2013.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 78. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
Ltd, GardensOnline Pty. "Photinia x fraseri Robusta | GardensOnline". www.gardensonline.com.au. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
"Table 4: Poisonous Range Plants of Temperate North America". Merck Veterinary Manual. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
K.A. Jacobs, F.S. Santamour, Jr., G.R. Johnson, M.A. Dirrs (September 1996). "Differential Resistance to Entomosporium Leafspot Disease and Hydrogen Cyanide Potential in Photinia" (PDF). J. Environ. Hort. 14 (3): 154–7.
Lester R. Vough, E. Kim Cassel (2004–2006). "Prussic Acid Poisoning of Livestock: Causes and Prevention (ExEx 4016)" (PDF). South Dakota State University. Retrieved 2011-05-04.