Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/quercus

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Quercus faginea

Species of oak tree

Species of oak tree

  • Quercus alpestris Boiss.
  • Quercus villariana A.Camus
  • Quercus tlemcenensis (A. DC.) Trab.

Quercus faginea, the Portuguese oak, is a species of oak native to the western Mediterranean region in the Iberian Peninsula. Similar trees in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa are usually included in this species, or sometimes treated as a distinct species, Quercus tlemcenensis. It occurs in mountains from sea level to 1900 m above sea level, and flourishes in a variety of soils and climates. Out of all the oak forests in the Iberian Peninsula, the southern populations of Portuguese oak were found to have the highest diversity and endemism of spider species.

Description

Q. faginea is a medium-sized deciduous or semi-evergreen tree growing to 20 m tall, with a trunk up to 80 cm in diameter, with grey-brown bark. The tree can live as long as 600 years. The leaves are 4–10 cm long and 1.2–4 cm broad (rarely to 15 cm long and 5 cm broad), glossy dark green to gray-green above, and variably felted grey-white below; the margins have five to 12 pairs of irregular teeth. Leaf fall is typically in mid- to late winter. The flowers are catkins, produced between March and April, almost always before holm oak, which grows in similar areas. The acorns are oblong-ovoid, 2–2.5 cm long, maturing in 6 months to disperse in September or October.

The species commonly develops galls due to gall wasp activity; the galls are brown, 1–2 cm diameter, and have a spongy, cork-like interior.

The two subspecies are:

ImageScientific nameDescriptionDistribution
[[File:Quercus faginea 01 by-dpc.jpg120px]]'*subsp. *faginea'''''Rarely exceeds 15 meters in height, smaller, greener, dentate-serrate leaves, shorter catkins (2–4 cm), distributed through more continental climates around 500-1500m altitude. Predominant subspecies in Spain.Native to the Iberian Peninsula
[[File:Bolota verde de carvalho-português.jpeg120px]]'*subsp. *broteroi'''* (Cout.) A.Camus (syn. *Q. tlemcenensis'')Can reach up to 20m in height, larger, densely tomentous, ashen, crenate-dentate leaves and longer catkins (4-7.5cm), distributed alongside rivers and streams, slopes and valleys up to 700m altitude. Predominant subspecies in Portugal.Native mainly to Northwest Africa and the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula

Portuguese oak also hybridises readily with other related oaks such as Algerian oak (Q. canariensis) and downy oak (Q. pubescens), which can make identification difficult.

The specific name faginea refers to the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of the beech (Fagus).

Uses

The wood has been used traditionally as firewood and as timber for construction (beams and posts). The acorns, like those of the holm oak or cork oak, are an important food for free-range black Iberian pigs reared for jamón ibérico production. It is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree.

References

References

  1. Jerome, D.. (2018). "''Quercus faginea''".
  2. {{ThePlantList
  3. (2020-12-01). "How Iberian are we? Mediterranean climate determines structure and endemicity of spider communities in Iberian oak forests". Biodiversity and Conservation.
  4. (2020-11-16). "Cientistas descobrem que é nos bosques de carvalho-português que há mais espécies de aranhas".
  5. {{Flora Europaea
  6. Bean, W. J. (1976). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., revised. John Murray.
  7. Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. HarperCollins {{ISBN. 0-00-220013-9.
  8. CAB International (2005). [http://www.cabicompendium.org/NamesLists/FC/Full/QUE_F1.htm data on ''Quercus faginea'', Forestry Compendium] {{webarchive. link. (October 9, 2007 . Retrieved 27 July 2006.)
  9. "Quercus faginea". [[Flora Iberica]].
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

quercus flora-of-north-africa trees-of-europe trees-of-mediterranean-climate drought-tolerant-trees plants-described-in-1785
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Quercus faginea — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report