Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster) is a genus of woody plants in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region (temperate Asia, Europe, north Africa), with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China and the Himalaya. They are related to hawthorns (Crataegus), firethorns (Pyracantha), photinias (Photinia) and rowans (Sorbus).

Depending on the species definition used, there are between 70 to 300 different species of cotoneaster, with many apomictic microspecies treated as species by some authors, but only as varieties by others.

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