Japanese Quince, Chaenomeles japonica
Rosaceae or Rose Family
 

 

Small shrub.  Leaves simple, that is, not divided into leaflets.  But the leaves resemble the leaflets of roses, oval and finely toothed.  Flowers are large and showy with 5 brilliant red, round petals on long narrow bases.

An alien, often planted for ornament and sometimes escaping into the wild.  At least one individual in the Park, along the Riverway bike path, near the south bridge.

Very noticeable and unmistakeable in bloom, but likely to be overlooked the rest of the time.