Oaks of the World

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  Quercus costaricensis
Author Liebm. 1854 Overs. Kongel. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Forh. Medlemmers Arbeider 1854: 184

 Diagnosis here
Synonyms costaricensis f. kuntzei Trel. 1924
endresi Trel. 1924 Diagnosis here
irazuensis Kuntze 1891    (A. Camus : 319)
Local names encino, roble encino;
Range Costa-Rica (1000 - 3400 m in Talamanca cordillera) ; Honduras (2400m); Panama (2800m);
Growth habit may reach 50 m tall; trunk cylindrical;
Leaves 3-6(9) x 2.5-5 cm; evergreen or tardily deciduous; thick and leathery; somewhat bubbled, with reticulate veins; elliptic or sometimes suborbicular; apex rounded or obtuse (sometimes pointed when young); base rounded or slightly cordate; glabrescent above with a few hairs along midrib; pubescent beneath specially near veins; 7-10 vein pairs, divaricate near margin; very short petiole;
Flowers August to November; male inflorescences 4-9 cm long, at the base of the twigs;
Fruits acorn subglobose 2-3 cm across; coffee-coloured; solitary, on a stount peduncle 0.5-1 cm long; cup covering only base of nut; maturing in 1 year;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark crackled, greenish black, scaly; twigs 2-6 mm thick, at first densely stellate-tomentose, becoming glabrescent; bud 6 mm long, ovoid, with apically pubescent scales;
Hardiness zone, habitat not hardy (does not withstand -7 °C); wet mountains forests;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : n° 321;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, Section Lobatae, Series Erythromexicanae ;
-- Threatened (IUCN Red List Category : VU).
Subspecies and
varieties
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