Oaks of the World

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  Quercus laurina
Author

Humb. & Bonpl. 1809 Pl. Aequinoct. 2: 32

Diagnosis here

Synonyms barbinervis Benth. 1840
bourgaei Oerst. ex Hemsl. 1883    (A. Camus : 357) Diagnosis here
bourgaei var. ilicifolia Trel. 1924
caerulocarpa Trel. 1924     (A. Camus : 350) Diagnosis here
chrysophylla Bonpl. 1809    (A. Camus : 364) Diagnosis here
lanceolata Humb. & Bonpl. 1809
laurina Liebm. ex A.DC 1864
major (A.DC) Trel. 1922
laurina var. major (A.DC) Wenz. 1884
malinaltepecana Trel. 1924
nitens var. major A.DC 1864
orizabae Liebm. 1854 (Camus : tome 3, p. 201, n° 363) Diagnosis here
roseovenulosa Trel. 1924
salicifolia Benth.
1840 not Née 1801
tlapuxahuensis A.DC 1864 Diagnosis here
treleaseana A.Camus 1932     (A. Camus : 359)
tridens Bonpl. 1809 Diagnosis here
Local names encino uricua ;
Range Mexico in the Sierra Madre del Sur and in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Veracruz, Michoacan, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Tlaxcala, Jalisco, Hidalgo) ; Guatemala ; 1600 - 3600 m ;
Growth habit 10-30 m; trunk 15-100 cm wide;
Leaves

4-12 x 1.5-5 cm; lanceolate or elliptic-oblanceolate; thick, coriaceous, stiff; apex acute or acuminate, usually bristle-tipped; base varying : usually rounded, more or less attenuate, sometimes cordate or truncate; margin thick, not revolute, most often entire, sometimes weakly toothed in apical 1/3 (1-4 pairs of aristate teeth); dull dark green above, glabrous or with some stellate trichomes near base; lustrous yellow green beneath with some amber glandular and fasciculate stipitate trichomes at vein axils; 6-12 vein pairs, raised adaxially, raised abaxially, slightly curved; epidermis papillose ; petiole 0.5-2 cm, yellow tomentose then glabrescent;

Flowers March-April; staminate catkins hairy, 4 cm long, with more than 10 flowers; pubescent pistillate inflorescences in April, with 1 to 3 flowers;
Fruits acorn 1.5-2 cm ; singly or to 3; peduncle 3-12 mm; cup half-round, not rolled at rim, with thin pubescent scales, enclosing 1/3 of the nut; maturing in 1 or 2 years from September to November;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark scaly, rough, dark grey; twig 1-2.5 mm thick, dark chestnut with some lenticels, pubescent at first, becoming nearly hairless at the end of first year; buds ovoid to globose, glabrous, 2-4 mm long; stipules deciduous;
Hardiness zone, habitat hardy ; prefers deep soils;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : n° 358;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, Series Erythromexicanae, Group Lanceolatae;
-- Q. laurina shows a high morphological variation, but is constant in its amber glandular trichomes on the abaxial surface, its axil tufts of fascicular stipitate trichomes, its dull and dark green leaves with aristate teeth toward the apex of the blade. It can be confused with Q. affinis which has not glandular trichomes on the lower face of the leaves, the 2 faces being nearly concolor and the lateral veins flat adaxially.

Subspecies and
varieties
-- Forms hybrids with Q. affinis which is closely related;
Pictures