Quercus oleoides, with Spanish common names encina or encino, is a Mesoamerican species of oak in the southern live oaks section of the genus Quercus (section Virentes).[3] It grows in dry forests and pastureland of eastern and southern Mexico and much of Central America, from Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica north as far as the State of Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.[4][5][6]

Quercus oleoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Quercus
Section: Quercus sect. Virentes
Species:
Q. oleoides
Binomial name
Quercus oleoides
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Quercus lutescens M.Martens & Galeotti
  • Quercus oleoides var. australis Trel.
  • Quercus oleoides var. lutescens (M.Martens & Galeotti) A.Camus
  • Quercus oleoides f. lutescens (M.Martens & Galeotti) Trel.
  • Quercus retusa Liebm.

Quercus oleoides is a slow-growing tree, reaching 8–15 metres (26–49 feet) in height. Its pale gray leaves are evergreen, thick, hard, 4 to 11 centimetres (1+12 to 4+14 inches) long, 2 to 5 cm (34 to 2 in) wide, oblong or elliptic. It flowers from December through May, with male catkins that are 3 to 4 cm (1+14 to 1+12 in) long, and female catkins that are 3 to 30 millimetres (18 to 1+18 inches) long, containing one to six flowers, each about 7 mm long.[7]

Its wood is extremely heavy with intercrossed grains; the sapwood is white, and heartwood brown.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Quercus oleoides". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  2. ^ "Quercus oleoides Schltdl. & Cham.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. ^ Denk, Thomas; Grimm, Guido W.; Manos, Paul S.; Deng, Min & Hipp, Andrew L. (2017). "Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks" (xls). figshare. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  4. ^ Muller, C. H. 1942. The Central American species of Quercus. United States Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant Industry. Miscellaneous Publication 477: 1–216
  5. ^ Nelson, C. H. 1978. Contribuciones a la flora de la Mosquitía, Honduras. Ceiba 22(1): 41–64
  6. ^ Pérez J., L. A., M. Sousa Sánchez, A. M. Hanan-Alipi, F. Chiang Cabrera & P. Tenorio L. 2005. Vegetación terrestre. Cap. 4: 65–110. In J. Bueno, F Álvarez & S. Santiago (eds.) Biodiversidad del Estado de Tabasco. CONABIO-UNAM, México
  7. ^ L. A. Fournier, "Quercus oleoides Schltdl. & Cham.", Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica
  8. ^ Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Quercus oleoides
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