| Quercus ilex | |
| Author | L. 1753 |
| Synonyms | grammuntia
L. 1753 sempervirens Miller 1768 ilex var. angustifolia Lam. in Lam. & DC 1805 ilex var. latifolia Sennen ilex ssp mirbeckii Sennen 1936 marcetti Pau ex Marcet 1909 prasina Pers. 1807 montserratensis Svent. & Marcet 1952 cookii Loudon 1838 expansa Poiret in Lam. 1811 fordii (Loud.) Carr. 1861 alpina Endl. 1848 integrifolia Steudel 1821 gracilis Lange 1861 calycina Poiret in Lam. 1811 castellana Poir. in Lam. 1811 smilax L. 1753 variifolia Sweet 1830 |
| Local names | yeuse |
| Range | South
Europe (Mediterranean Region); |
| Growth habit | 15
m (may reach 25 m); trunk brittle, short, to 1-2 m in diameter; many-branched;
crown at first columnar, becoming domed; |
| Leaves | 3-7 cm
long; persist for 2 years before falling; varying in size and shape (more or less
oval, or lanceolate, or rounded, entire or toothed); margin glabrous, clearly
hyalin; adaxially dark green, shiny, weakly rough; dull, tawny, densely pubescent
beneath; 7-12 vein pairs; petiole 0.4-1.5 cm ; |
| Flowers | early summer; male on catkins yellow, 4-7 cm long, with 4-7 stamens longer than petals; pistillate flowers with sometimes bracts at the base of the future cup; |
| Fruits | acorn 1.5-2 cm; pointed; short peduncle; enclosed 1/2 or 1/3 by cup; cup scaly, 1.8 cm high, 1.2 cm wide, pale grey to tawny; maturing in 1 year; bitter; |
| Bark, twigs and | bark
blackish, broken into small, shallow, square plates; twig greyish pubescent, turning
brown green; bud small (2 mm), tawny, with recurved scales; |
| Hardiness zone, habitat | usually hardy; all types of soils, including calcareous ones, if drained; sprouts easily and forms root suckers; |
| Miscellaneous | --
A. Camus : n° 140; -- Sub-genus Quercus; -- lives up to 300 years and more; |
| Subspecies and varieties | ---
var. rotundifolia = Q.rotundifolia Lam. 1785 : see
this file --- the type species, Q.ilex (or Q.ilex ssp ilex), actually very variable, has been described under several varieties, among them : _ var. gracilis = Q.gracilis Lange 1861 = Q.ilex ssp gracilis (Lange) Rivas-Mart. & Saenz 1992 leaves 3 x 1.5 cm, oblong lanceolate, apex acuminate, base cuneate, few teeth near apex, slightly wavy ; greyish green ; young twigs greyish tomentose; _ var. marcetii (Pau ex Marcet) C.Vicioso 1950 = Q.marceti Pau ex Marcet 1909 "alzina de Montserrat" leaves 7-9 x 2-3 cm, evergreen, oblong elliptic, entire or with very small teeth; dark green, hairless obove, white tomentose beneath; apex pointed, base attenuate; 7-14 vein pairs; petiole 1.5 cm, brown above, greenish beneath, with stellate hairs; cup with upper scales imbricate, hairy; black acorn 2.5 cm long, 3 to 5 together, with long peduncle, ripening in 1 year; twig grey tomentose, not bending near tip ( hybrids with Q.suber have drooping twigs); numerous globose buds; Spain (near Barcelona), very rare; |
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