| Quercus semecarpifolia | |
| Author | Sm. in Rees 1814 Cycl. 29: 20 |
| Synonyms | cassura Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don 1825 obtusifolia D.Don 1825, not Rydb. 1901 |
| Local names | Brown oak ; kharshu oak ; gao shan li ; |
| Range | Afghanistan, Bhutan, China (Xizang), India (Kumaun, Sikkim), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan; 2500-4000 m; |
| Growth habit | reaches 20-30 m tall; often smaller; trunk to 1.5 m in diameter; columnar habit with domed crown; spreading branches; |
| Leaves | 2-5(-10) x 1.5-3(-6) cm ; evergreen or semi-evergreen; leathery; elliptic or elliptic-oblong; apex obtuse; base more or less cordate; margin entire (above all on older twigs) or with 1-8 sharp teeth, wavy; dark green, soon hailess above except on midrib; downy, fawn-coloured beneath, specially on young leaves; older leaves become glabrous; 7-12 vein pairs raised under, at an angle of 55-60° with midrib; midrib sinuous near apex; petiole stout, 2-7 mm long, sometimes absent, stout, brown tomentose; |
| Flowers | May; male catkins 5-12 cm, golden yellow, flowers with 8-16 stamens; pistillate inflorescences 5-10 mm, bearing 1-3 flowers; |
| Fruits | acorn 2.5 cm in diameter, globose, glabrous, black when mature; singly or paired on a short downy stalk; apex pointed; cup flat (1 cm in diameter, 0.5cm high), 1 mm thick, at the base of the nut only; scales triangular, ciliate, grey brown; maturing same year; |
|
Bark, twigs and |
bark dark greyish, fissured into small square plates; twigs, buds, stipules pubescent, becoming hairless at fall; twigs with rounded, pale lenticels, becoming dark brown green and rough; buds conical 3-6 mm long; |
| Hardiness zone, habitat | hardy; all types of soils; mountain forests; |
| Miscellaneous | -- A. Camus : tome 1, p. 391,
n° 92; -- Sub-genus Cerris, Section Ilex; -- See the Key for Asian simalar Quercus; -- Written 'semicarpifolia' by A. Camus; -- Q. obtusifolia Rydb. 1901 is a synonym of Q. gambelii; |
| Subspecies and varieties |
--
Q.pannosa Hand.-Mazz. 1929 Symb. Sin. 7: 35 A. Camus : tome 1, p. 385, n° 90; = Q.ilex var. rufescens Franchet 1899 p.p. = Q.semecarpifolia var. rufescens (Franch.) Schottky 1912 = Q. aquifolioides var. rufescens (Franch.) W.W.Sm. 1924 is an ecological race with leaves shorter (max. 5.5 cm for 2-3 cm wide), less revolute, with hairs covering densely the secondary veins, peduncle shorter and cup adherent completely to the nut; to 4300 m; China (Yunnan); |
| Pictures |
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