Oaks of the World

General dataClassificationsList of speciesLocal namesBack to
home page

  Quercus sapotifolia
Author

Liebm. 1854 Overs. Kongel. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Forh. Medlemmers Arbeider 1854: 185

Diagnosis here

Synonyms amissiloba Trel.1938
apanecana Trel.1924 Diagnosis here
bumelioides Liebm. 1864 Diagnosis here
donnell-smithii Trel.1924 pro parte Diagnosis here
elliptica Liebm. ex A.DC 1864 not Née 1801
elliptica var. microcarpa (Liebm.) A.DC 1864
guatimalensis A.DC 1864 pro parte
microcarpa Liebm.1854 Diagnosis here
parviglans Trel.1915 Diagnosis here
parviglans fo polycarpa Trel. 1924
parviglans fo tejadana Trel.1924
perseaefolia Liebm. 1854 (or perseifolia) (A. Camus : 328) Diagnosis here
perseaefolia var. achoteana Trel. ex Yunck. 1938  
siguatepequeana Trel. 1930
totutlensis A.DC 1864 (A.Camus : n° 408)
wesmaelii Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
Local names
Range Costa-Rica; Honduras; El Salvador; Guatemala; Panama; Belize; South-East Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Oriental (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz); 1300 m - 2000 m; Nicaragua 800 - 1500m ;
Growth habit 4-15 m tall, sometimes more;
Leaves 8-12 x 2-5 cm; evergreen; oblanceolate to oblong, or elliptic; leathery; coriaceousweakly rough; apex slightly acute or narrowly rounded, often bristle-tipped; base narrowly rounded or cordate; margin entire, revolute, somewhat crispate; hairless on both sides, except some tufts of fasciate and glandular hairs at axils beneath; epidermis abaxially flat or barely papillose, not bullate; 8-14 vein pairs, slightly impressed above, raised beneath, at an angle of more than 45° with the midrib; petiole hairless or glabrate, 3-6 mm long;
Flowers male inflorescences 6-12 cm long; pistillate inflorescences 1-3 cm long, bearing 1-6 flowers;
Fruits acorn 0.8-1.4 cm in diameter, narrowly ellipsoid; mucronate and glabrescent; singly or to 3 together; subsessile or with glabrous stalk 0.5-2 cm long; pericarp hairy inside; enclosed 1/4 by cup; cup halfround to slightly turbinate, with triangular, 2-3 mm long, pointed, shiny tawny scales; maturing in 1 year;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark rough, dark red; twigs 1.5-3.5 mm thick, soon glabrous, dark red brown, with raised, white, inconspicuous lenticels; buds ovoid-elliptic, 2.5-3 mm long, hairless; stipules deciduous;
Hardiness zone, habitat not hardy;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : n° 329;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, Series Erythromexicanae;

-- For some Authors, (Govaerts & Frodin), Q.perseifolia is a true species (= Q.elliptica Liebm. not Née).
-- For numerous Authors of Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua), Q.bumelioides is synonym of Q.copeyensis, which is not possible as Q. copeyensis is in the Quercus Section; but for Susana Valencia Avalos, 2004, Q.bumelioides is a synonym of sapotifolia, and for Tracey Parker (Trees of Guatemala, 2008), it is a true species....
-- Hybridizes with Q.elliptica Née in low, dry sites, and with Q.salicifolia in high, wet sites;

-- Resembles Q. pinnativenulosa, which has acorns maturing in 2 years, 3-4.5 mm long buds, 5-17 mm long petioles, leaves narrower (to 3 cm) and veins weakly raised beneath.
-- Resembles also Q. delgadoana, which has biennal fruits, leaves grayish-green or glaucous, narrowly oblong, lanceolate or elliptic, and 9 to 20 pairs of secondary veins.
--
See HERE to compare with some other whole-leaved oaks.

Subspecies and
varieties
Pictures