Week 19: Pyracantha Coccinea; Firethorn.

pH 7.5 ALKALINE

Common Name: Firethorn

Latin Name: Pyracantha Coccinea

Type: Bushy evergreen shrub

Location: Fletcher Moss Park, Didsbury. 

Ultimate height: Up to 4m

Ultimate spread: Up to 4m

Located Pyracantha Coccinea height: 2m

Overall shape: This shrub has an irregular shape but is often trained against a wall or fence

Leaf Shape: These leaves are oblong and a dark glossy green colour

Bark: Chapped and thorned.  Green in colour with light brown raised spots. Branch/twig smooth in texture with smaller light shaded, and raised spots


Preferred soil type: Suitable in all soil type but will not survive in areas prone to water logged soil

Fruit/Flowers: Fruits are a very destinctive red/orange coloured berry present in autumn and winter. During spring and summer the shrub has clusters of very small white flowers.

Distribution: Native of Southern Europe and South Asia, introduced in the UK in the 18th century. 


I located the Pyracantha Coccinea within a planting bed, adjacent to a footpath within the gardens of Fletcher Moss. Whether it has been planted intentionally or unintentionally is hard to distinguish. It may have been intentionally seeded to bring vibrant colours and a dense boarder-like shrub to the highly used footpath, or it may have been self-seeded by means of bird transportation. The specie is in good health, which in some cases may be due to the mass of planting surrounding. My theory behind this is that the Pyracantha Coccinea doesn't grow well in waterlogged areas, and this particular specie is located at the lower parts of the gardens, often resulting in highly damp soil conditions. When this blog post was created, the weather was hot resulting in soils being of a dry nature however, I have since returned in damp weather conditions and its soils water content can become quite plentiful.  Point being; due to the mass of congestion planting within this particular area of the park, the water levels within the soil will be used by other species allowing the Pyracantha to grow successfully.