See text Photinia (/foʊˈtɪniə, fə-/[3][4][5]) is a genus of about 30 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly,[when?]

The natural range of these species is restricted to warm temperate Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and south to India and Thailand.

Another name sometimes used is "Christmas berry", but this name is a source of confusion, since it is commonly applied to plants in several genera including Heteromeles, Lycium, Schinus, and Ruscus.

The fruit is a small pome, 4–12 mm across, bright red and berry-like, produced large quantities, maturing in the fall and often persisting well into the winter.

The genus Stranvaesia is so similar in morphology to Photinia that its species have sometimes been included within it,[7][8] but recent molecular data[9] indicate that the two genera are not closely related.

The most widely planted are: Some varieties of Photinia are toxic due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides in the vacuoles of foliage and fruit cells.

[15] Ruminants are particularly affected by cyanogenic glycosides because the first stage of their digestive system (the rumen) provides better conditions for liberating HCN than the stomachs of monogastric vertebrates.