Oaks of the World

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  Quercus trojana
Author Webb 1839 Gard. Mag. & Reg. Rural Domest. Improv. 15: 590
Synonyms aegilops Griseb. 1844, not L
aegilops var. macedonica (A.DC) Fiori & Paol. 1898.
grisebachii Kotschy 1891
macedonica A.DC 1864
trojana Jaubert & Spach 1842
trojana f. macrobalana Gavioli 1935
Local names Trojan oak; Macedonia's oak;
Range SE Italy; the Balkans; Asia Minor; 300-1800 m; introduced in Europe in 1890;
Growth habit not exceeding 15-18 m, with trunk to 0.6 m in diameter; crown at first conical, then domed;
Leaves 3-9 x 1.5-2.3 cm; semi-evergreen; leathery; oblong or oblong-lanceolate ; apex pointed acuminate; base rounded or subcordate; margin toothed, with 6-12 pairs of mucronate teeth; both sides glabrous and slightly glaucous, but somtimes with short, stellate hairs beneath; 8-14 veins pairs raised under, at an angle of 45° with midrib; tertiary veins prominent beneath; petiole 0.2-0.6 cm, sparsely hairy;
Flowers male flowers with perianth hairy, but with glabrous anthers; female flowers subsessile, with 4-5 elongated styles;
Fruits acorn 2.7-4.5 cm long, 1.8-2 cm in diameter; 1 to 3 on a 2-5 mm long, pubescent, thick rachis; apex truncate; cup sessile or nearly so, 2.5 cm in diameter, very variable, with long, spreading or recurved, or appressed scales, enclosing 2/3 of nut or more; maturing in 2 years;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark grey brown, furrowed; twigs brown green, sometimes with a few stellate hairs, turning grey brown; bud small, 2 mm long, with persistent stipules around terminal one;
Hardiness zone, habitat hardy; all types of soils; fast-growing;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : tome 1, p. 563, n° 119;
-- Sub-genus Cerris, Section Cerris, sub-section Libani (with afares, and libani);
-- Resembles Q.cerris, but cup scales are not so long, leaves are less lobed, buds lack the long setose stipules; resembles also Q.libani, but smaller leaves with short and pointed teeth, and shorter petioles;
Subspecies and
varieties

-- subsp yaltirikii Zielinski, Petrova & Tomaszewski 2006
smaller leaves than the type, with stellate hairs on leaves (both sides) and on twigs ; small tree in the South of Turquey. However, this taxon deserve more investigations in order to confirm its relations with Q. trojana.

-- Q. euboica (Papioann.) K.I.Chr. 1997 Fl. Hellenica 1: 45
= Q. trojan subsp. euboica Papioann. 1949
it is a shrub or a dwarf subspecies from Greece (NE Evvia).
Recent genetic studies (2018) have shown that Q. trojana and Q. euboica are genetically isolated; moreover, on the Greek Island of Euboea, Q. euboica grows isolated from Q. trojana, and its morphology is different : the leaves are more leathery and their underside is covered with a white tomentum made of stellate trichomes; in addition, Q. euboica is characterized by special edaphic conditions growing on serpentine rocks. All these data indicate that Q. euboica should be better considered as a true species, requiring special protection. Todays (2024) this taxon is placed in the Section Cerris, sub-section Cerris (with castaneifolia, look, and cerris).
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