Oaks of the World

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  Quercus pumila
Author Walt. 1788 Fl. Carol. 234
Synonyms cinerea var. nana A.DC 1864
cinerea var. pumila (Walt.) M.A.Curtis 1860
elliottii Wilbur 2002
humilis Walt. 1788
phellos var. pumila (Walt.) Michx. 1803
phellos var. sericea Aiton 1789
pumila var. sericea (Ait.) Engelm. 1876
sericea Willd. 1805
Local names runner oak ; running oak ;
Range SE USA; Florida; Louisiana; E Texas; 0-100 m;
Growth habit seldom exceeding 1 m (may reach 1.8 m); bushy, spreading around with underground runners;
Leaves 2.5-10 x 0.5-3 cm; deciduous; oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic; apex pointed often ending in small tooth; base rounded or slightly acute; margin entire, often rolled under; shiny dark green, hairless, convex above; grey brown, densely pubescent beneath, seldom glabrescent; pétiole hairy, 2-5 mm long;
Flowers
Fruits acorn 1.2-2 cm; subglobose; striate; enclosed 1/3 by top-shaped cup; cup with appressed, greyish pubescent scales; maturing in 1 year;

Bark, twigs and
buds

twigs greyish tomentose; buds obtuse, chesnut-brown, 3 mm long;
Hardiness zone, habitat not hardy; prefers dry, sandy soils;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : n° 411;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, sub-section Phellos;
-- The name Q.elliottii has been given to Q.pumila by Wilbur in 2002 under the pretext that the latin diagnosis made by Walter in 1788 was not complete, but the neotype choosen by Wilbur is actually a hybrid between Q.falcata and Q.phellos...


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