Asia-Temperate China: China - Guizhou, - Sichuan, - Xizang, - Yunnan Asia-Tropical Indo-China: Myanmar; Thailand
Cotoneaster franchetii is a multi-stemmed, evergreen shrub native to China and Thailand. In it's native range, it typically grows in areas with full sun on rocky mountain slopes usually between 1,600 meters and 2,900 meters in altitude. It can reach 3 meters tall and form dense thickets that can out-compete other native plant species in introduced regions. It has been introduced to a several countries as a ornamental shrub, but has now become invasive or naturalized in Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. Cotoneaster franchetii can spread vegetatively, but the primary mechanism of dispersal is from birds ingesting the fruits. Cotoneaster franchetii produces a high quantity of fruits each year and the rate of seed germination dispersed by birds is significantly higher than the germination rate of intact fruit. It is ranked as one of the top most flammable species in a study comparing flammability of live leaves and leaf litter (Ganteaume, 2018), which could possibly promote fire and change fire regimes in invaded regions. The results of this evaluation indicate that Cotoneaster franchetii has a high rate of invasive potential.