Pyracantha angustifolia

Slender or woolly firethorn, Slender Or Woolly Firethorn

Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Slender firethorn is a naturalized shrub found in coastal central California regions, including the Coast Ranges and Central Coast, in disturbed areas such as abandoned fields and roadsides at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces white flowers in small clusters with dense gray hairiness. Growing as an erect shrub up to 4 meters tall with generally gray-hairy branches, it develops a compact and upright form. Its leaves are narrow and oblong to slightly oblanceolate, measuring 25 to 50 millimeters long, with minimal teeth and hairs that thin with age. The fruit develops as bright red berries approximately 4 to 6 millimeters wide, creating decorative clusters against the shrub's gray-green foliage.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, fencerows, abandoned fields, roadsides

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, CCo, expected elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.