The fruit is a red pome 6–9 millimetres (0.24–0.35 in) diameter; they are eaten by fruit-eating birds who disperse the seeds in their droppings.

It has escaped from cultivation and become locally naturalised in parts of the British Isles and the Pacific Northwest of North America,[4][5] as well as Northern California.

[8] Scientists at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK carried out a study on the effectiveness of hedges for soaking up air pollution, comparing different types of shrubs including cotoneaster, hawthorn, and western red cedar.

They found that bushy, hairy-leafed varieties of cotoneaster, such as this, are “super plants” that can help soak up air pollution.

On roads with heavy traffic, the dense, hairy-leaved Cotoneaster franchetii was at least 20% more effective at soaking up air pollution than other shrubs often planted along roadsides.