Oaks of the World

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  Quercus rugosa
Author Née 1801 Anales Ci. Nat. 3: 275
 Diagnosis here
Synonyms ariifolia Trel 1924 Diagnosis here
conglomerata Trel.1924 Diagnosis here
decipiens Mart. & Gal. 1843   (A.Camus : 217)
diversicolor Trel.1924 (Camus : n° 218) Diagnosis here
durangensis Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
innuncupata Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
macrophylla var. rugosa (Née) Wenz. 1884
purpusii Trel. 1924 (Camus : n° 221) Diagnosis here
reticulata Bonpl. 1809 (Camus : n° 215) Diagnosis here
rhodophlebia Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
suchiensis Warb. 1939
uhdeana Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
vellifera Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
Local names netleaf oak; encino cuero; doga; encino hojarasco;
Range Mexico (Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Zacatecas); S Arizona; Guatemala; 1200 - 3200 m; introduced in Europe in 1839 (G.B.);
Growth habit 5-10 m tall usually, but may reach 30 m, with trunk to 1 m in diameter; crown rounded;
Leaves 4-16 x 3-10 cm; evergreen or lately deciduous; thick, strongly coriaceous, rough, convex; elliptic-oboval or nearly orbicular ; apex rounded sometimes acute, mucronate; base rounded or cordate; margin thick, flat or rolled under, cartilaginous, crenate to dentate-serrate in apical 2/3, with 3-10 pairs of mucronate teeth (mucro to 2 mm long, not curved towards the abaxial face) ; dark grey green above, lustrous, glabrous or with some stellate sessile and glandular hairs near base of midvein; beneath paler (yellowish or light brown), with 6-11-rayed, stellate, short stalked trichomes, and golden glandular hairs with concretions; 7-12 vein pairs, straight or sinuous, impressed above, prominent beneath; epidermis glaucous, bloomy, strongly bullate, papillose; petiole 5-12 mm, tomentose, pinkish;
Flowers in April; male catkins 1.5-2 cm, pubescent; pistillate catkins pubescent, with 15-20 flowers;
Fruits acorn 1.5-2.5 cm long, pointed; singly or to 8 together; peduncle 1.5-7 cm long; enclosed 1/3 or 1/2 by cup; cup 1-1.5 cm in diameter, with appressed, oval, pointed, tomentose scales, warty at base; maturing in 1 year between August and November; cotyledons distinct, often reddish;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark dark brown, scaly, rough, quite thin; young twigs 1.5-4 mm thick, red brown, lenticellate, densely tomentose at first, becoming hairless, greyish, smooth with age; buds very small, 2-5 mm long, ovoid, red brown; stipules 5-9 mm, silky pilose, persistent;
Hardiness zone, habitat quite hardy : zone 6 (withstands -15° C); all types of soils; prefers moist soils; slow growing;
Miscellaneous

-- A. Camus : n° 219;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Series Leucomexicanae, Group Reticulatae;
-- No hybrids known;
-- Could be confused with Q. obtusata, but this one has foliar mucros short and curved towards abaxial face, the leaves are subcoriaceous sometimes plane, with an abaxial epidermis not or slightly bullate and margin not revolute;

- For Silvia Romero Rangel (2013), Q. ariifolia Trel. differs from Q. rugosa in having more and longer stellate stipitate trichomes, the underside of the leaves greyish (yellowish or light brown in Q. rugosa) due to numerous, greyish, tangled trichomes ; moreover the acorn is smaller (1-1.5 cm long), on a peduncle 9-13 cm long.
In 2017, S.Valencia & al. think that Q. ariifolia Trel. is a true species, different from Q. rugosa in having a whitish-lanuginous abaxial blade surface, generally lacking amber glandular trichomes and leaves nor concave abaxially. See Q. ariifolia
Subspecies and
varieties 		Numerous varieties, often described as species :
--- var. greggii A.DC 1864; Mexico : San Antonio; (see Q. greggii)
--- fo. pungens CH Mull. 1936; Mexico : Nuevo Leon;
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