Cotoneaster simonsii Hort. ex Baker in Saunders, Refug. Bot. 1: t. 55, 1869. Type locality: India (Sikkim); (t. 55 in Baker was drawn from plants grown from seed collected from there; not "A native of Khasia").

Shrubs, deciduous or semi-evergreen, erect, 1–4(–5) m tall. Branchlets divaricate, spiralled, erect to spreading, terete, initially strigose-tomentose, late glabrescent. Leaves pale green abaxially, deep green adaxially; petiole 1–3 mm, strigose-pilose; leaf blade pale to dark green, broadly elliptic or rhombic-elliptic to suborbicular, rarely obovate-elliptic, 0.9–2.5(–3.5) × 0.5–1.7(–2) cm, papery to subleathery, midvein raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, abaxially strigose-pilose, adaxially sparsely strigose-pilose or subglabrous, base obtuse or broadly cuneate, apex acute, rarely obtuse or shortly acuminate, mucronate. Inflorescence 2–6-flowered. Hypanthium strigose-villous. Sepals densely villous at margin, apex acuminate. Petals erect, red. Stamens 15–20; anthers white. Fruit bright scarlet, obovoid-ellipsoid or turbinate, 8–9.5 mm, ca. 6 mm in diam.; nutlets 3 or 4. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Oct. 2n = 68.

In shrubby areas, river valleys. W. Bhutan, E. and N. India (incl. Sikkim), Myanmar, Nepal. Introduced and naturalized in the U.K.

Specimen examined at A: East: Janakpur Zone, Ramecchap Distr., around Neju, 3651 m, 27°44'N. 86°31'E., 1 Aug 1985, H. Ohba, T. Kikuchi, M. Wakabayashi et al. 8570971.

stem: posture: erect

plant: height: 100-500 cm tall

stem: branchlet: indumentum: type: glabrescent, strigose, tomentose

leaf: petiole: length: 1-3 mm

leaf: blade: shape: elliptic, obovate, orbicular, rhombic

leaf: blade: length: 0.9-3.5 cm long

leaf: blade: width: 0.5-2 cm wide

leaf: blade: length: width ratio: 1.4-1.8

leaf: texture: leathery, papery

leaf: blade: abaxial surface: indumentum type: glabrous, pilose, strigose

leaf: blade: adaxial surface: indumentum type: glabrous, pilose, strigose

leaf: blade: base: cuneate, obtuse

leaf: blade: apex: acute, mucronate

inflorescence: type: cyme, fascicled flowers, solitary flowers

petal: color: red

inflorescence: flowers: number: 2-6

petal: posture: erect

hypanthium: indumentum: type: strigose, villous

stamens: number: 15-20

anthers: color: white

fruit: color: bright, scarlet

fruit: shape: ellipsoid, obovoid, turbinate

fruit: diam.: 6 mm

nutlets: number: 3-4

flowering: May, Jun, Jul

fruiting: Oct