Oaks of the World

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  Quercus libani
Author G.Olivier 1801 Voy. Emp. Othoman 2: 290
Synonyms carduchorum K.Koch 1849
regia Lindl. 1840 (A. Camus : n°112)
var. regia (Lindl.) Boiss. 1879
serratifolia Benth. ex Petzh. & Kirchn. 1864
squarrosa Kotschy ex A.DC 1864
tchihatchewii Kotschy 1860
Local names Lebanon's oak;
Range Syria, Turkey, Iran, (in mountains, mainly in the Northern part of the Zagros forests); introduced in Europe in 1856 (in Great Britain); 700-2000 m;
Growth habit 10-20 m; sometimes less than 3 m;
Leaves 5-12 x 2-3 cm; deciduous or semi-evergreen; oblong, oval-lanceolate or lanceolate; base rounded to subcordate, often asymmetrical; apex acuminate; margin more or less regularly serrate, with 9-14 pairs of teeth, each ending in a mucronate (or aristate), 3 mm long point; dark lustrous green adaxially; paler beneath, slightly pubescent at first, then glabrescent (seldom with a dense stellate indumentum); 9-14 vein pairs, raised abaxially; petiole slender, 0.6-1 cm, becoming glabrous;
Flowers male catkin slender, short, hairy; female catkin 0.5-1.5 cm long, tomentose, bearing 2 flowers;
Fruits acorn 2-3 cm long, cylindrical, apically truncate-flattened; peduncle short (less than 1 cm) and thick; enclosed 1/2 or 3/4 by cup; cup thick with long, recurved, tomentose scales, the scales around the rim erect, the scales near the base more appressed; basal scar flat or weakly convex, large;  maturing in 2 years;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark dark grey with orangey-coloured furrows; young twig tomentose, often reddish-brown and glabrescent; twigs olive brown, rough, lenticellate; buds red brown, scaly; bud ca 3-4 mm, reddish-brown, oblong, ciliate;
Hardiness zone, habitat hardy; all types of soils;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : tome 1, p. 517, n° 111;
-- Sub-genus Cerris, Section Cerris, subsection Libani (with afares and trojana);
-- Slow growing; lives up to 100 years;

Subspecies and
varieties

--- This species is strongly variable concerning the leaves (pubescence of lower side), and the scales of the cupule; in 1967, Djavanchir-Khoie (Les chênes de l'Iran) described twelve new species in Lebanon, but they are actually synonyms of Q.libani for most todays Authors; however, some varieties may be separate, leading to the creation of the term "Q. libani Complex".

--- The last study of this Complex is the one of Panahi, 2012; the Iranian Authors concluded that 4 species are isolated from Q. libani s.l. based on the study of micro-morphological characteristics (under an electronic microscope) of leaves and pollen grains. The following species were isolated:

1) Q. libani Oliv. 1801
= hedjazii, irregularis, ovicarpa, polynervata, subcordata and tregubovii Djav.-Khoie 1967
the species described above, with trichomes only on the abaxial surface, sessile-stellate completely appressed on the limb, with (4-) 6 (-8) rays 50-150 µm long, and abundant simple uniseriate trichomes.

2) Q. carduchorum K.Koch 1849
= tchihatchewii Kotschy 1860
to 10 m tall; young twigs, leaves and buds densely tomentose; trichomes on both leaf surfaces, abundant; abaxial surface stellate tomentose, with 4-8 rays, 70-150 µm long; stomata raised; cupscales in 9-10 spirals;

3) Q. apiculata Djav.-Khoie 1967
trichomes only on the abaxial surface, stipitate-stellate with (4-) 8 rays 70-170 µm long ;

4) Q. magnosquamata Djav.-Khoie 1967
= scalaridentata Djav.-Khoie
leaf with both faces hairy, not so densely as in Q. carduchorum, trichomes stellate with 4-11, 60-120 µm long rays; stomatas non raised;

5) Q. ophiosquamata Djav.-Khoie 1967
foliar base obviously cordate; trichomes only on the abaxial face, stellate, sessil, appressed on the limb, with (4-) 8 rays 80-210 µm long, and also a few simple uniseriate trichomes.
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