Oaks of the World

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  Quercus lanata
Author Sm. 1819 Cycl. 29: 27
Synonyms banga (or banja)Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don 1825
dealbata Wall. 1828 nom. inval.
incana Roxb. 1814 nom. illeg., not Bartr. 1791
lanata var. incana Wenzig 1886
lanuginosa D.Don 1825
leucotrichophora A.Camus 1935 (A. Camus : n° 134)
nepaulensis Desf. 1829
oblongata D.Don 1825 Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 57
Local names woolly oak ; tong mai li ;
Range India, Myanmar, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Borneo, North Pakistan; 1300-3000 m; introduced in Europe in 1818;
Growth habit 4-18 m tall (may reach 30 m); twisting trunk;
Leaves 10-20 x 3-9 cm; evergreen; coriaceous; oblong to elliptic-lanceolate; twice or three times as long as wide; apex obtuse, more or less attenuate; base rounded or broadly conical; margin entire or slightly toothed in apical 1/2 or 2/3; young leaves woolly tomentose both sides; mature leaves adaxially hairless, dark green, shiny; rusty white tomentose beneath, becoming dirty grey at the end of the growth season; 9-13 straight, parallel veins pairs, slightly raised beneath, at an angle of 35-38° with midrib; petiole 6-25 mm, grey brown tomentose, becoming glabrous;
Flowers in April-May; male catkin 3-8 cm long, tomentose; pistillate inflorescences 1-2 cm long, 3-8 flowered;
Fruits acorn 1.1-1.3 cm long, 0.9-1.2 cm wide; ellipsoid-ovoid, mucronate, apex acute; glabrous; singly or paired on a hairy rachis; enclosed 1/3 to 1/2 by cup; cup sessile, 1 cm in diameter; with small, triangular, appressed scales; maturing in December-January, 8 months from the time the female flower is pollinated;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark thick, brown-ash grey, lenticellate, peeling into thin plates; young shoots densely pubescent, becoming partially glabrous; bud globose, with glabrescent scales; stipule oblong, woolly, 8 mm long, deciduous;
Hardiness zone, habitat not quite hardy in England; thrives well in West France; all types of soils; growth rather slow when young;
Miscellaneous

-- A. Camus : tome 2, p. 26, n° 135;
-- Sub-genus Cerris, Section Ilex;

-- "lanuginosa" is a term frequently used by Authors, so it is better not to use it, in order to avoid confusions !
- Q. lanuginosa Franchet 1899 nom. illeg. = Q. franchetii
- Q. lanuginosa (Lam.)Thuill.1799 nom. illeg. = Q. pubescens
- Q. lanuginosa Beck 1890 nom. illeg. = Q. robur (sic !)
- Q. lanuginosa sensu Lam. 1778 nom. illeg. = Q. cerris L. 1753
- Q. lanuginosa D.Don 1825 nom. illeg. = Q. lanata

Subspecies and
varieties

-- var. eriocarpa A.Camus 1935
very tomentose mature fruit; very broad, often strongly toothed leaves; young leaves with yellow hairs; anthers not elongated, smooth;

-- var. leiocarpa A.Camus 1935
= subsp leiocarpa (A.Camus) Menitsky 1973 Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 126
glabrous mature fruit; leaves narrowly oval, less deeply toothed; young leaves with greyish white hairs; anthers elongated, mucronate; Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam;

-- Q. leucotrichophora A.Camus 1935 (A. Camus n° 134)
= Q. incana Roxb.
= Q. dealbata Wall. not Hook.f.q
= Q. oblongata D.Don 1825 Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 57
Ban oak, grey oak;
is sometimes considered as a true species with the following distinctive features : acorn maturing usually between 18 and 20 months after pollination; leaves ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 3 or 4 times as long as wide (7.5-15 x 2.5-5 cm), entire only near base, with a whitish or pale greyish tomentose beneath (seldom brown); young leaves pinkish with a woolly tomentum on both surfaces; 10-20 pairs of lateral veins; twig completely glabrous at maturity; on moister soils than for Q. lanata ; not quite hardy in England, only in South France (zone 8); introduced in England in 1810.
Both "species" are often confused; all the more so since they live together in India ! May be they are actually varieties ?....in Flora of China (2008), Q. lanata and Q. leucotrichophora are synonyms.

-- Moreover, Govaerts (2007) states that the name leucotrichophora must be replaced by the name oblongata, as D.Don had given this name to this taxon in 1825, before A. Camus.
Pictures

drawing of Q. lanata