Oaks of the World

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  Quercus lanata
Author Sm. 1819 Cycl. 29: 27
Synonyms banga (or banja)Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don 1825
dealbata Wall. 1828 nom. inval.
incana Roxb. 1814 nom. nudum, not Bartr. 1791
lanata var. incana Wenzig 1886
lanuginosa D.Don 1825
leucotrichophora A.Camus 1935 (A. Camus : n° 134)
nepaulensis Desf. 1829
oblongata D.Don 1825
Local names Ban oak ; woolly oak ; tong mai li ;
Range India, Myanmar, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Borneo, North Pakistan; 1300-3000 m; introduced in Europe in 1818;
Growth habit 4-18 m tall (may reach 30 m); twisting trunk;
Leaves 10-22 x 3-9 cm; evergreen; oval oblong, twice or three times as long as wide; glabrous; stiff; rough above; rusty white tomentose beneath, sometimes only along veins; margin entire or slightly toothed in apical half; apex obtuse, more or less acuminate; base rounded or broadly conical; 14-17 parallel vein pairs; petiole 6-25 mm, grey brown tomentose, becoming glabrous;
Flowers pistillate inflorescences 4-14 cm long, in June-July;
Fruits acorn 1.1-1.8 cm long, 0.9-1.2 cm wide; ellipsoid-ovoid, mucronate, apex acute; glabrous; singly or paired; enclosed 1/3 to 1/2 by cup; cup sessile, 1 cm in diameter; with small, triangular, appressed scales; maturing in 1 or 2 years;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark thick, brown-ash grey, lenticellate, peeling into thin plates; young shoots densely pubescent, becoming partially glabrous;
Hardiness zone, habitat not quite hardy in England; thrives well in West France; all types of soils;
Miscellaneous

-- A. Camus : n° 135;
-- Sub-genus Cerris, Section Ilex;

-- "lanuginosa" is a term frequently used by Authors, so it is better not to use it, in order to avoid confusions !
- Q. lanuginosa Franchet 1899 nom. illeg. = Q. franchetii
- Q. lanuginosa (Lam.)Thuill.1799 nom. illeg. = Q. pubescens
- Q. lanuginosa Beck 1890 nom. illeg. = Q. robur (sic !)
- Q. lanuginosa sensu Lam. 1778 nom. illeg. = Q. cerris L. 1753
- Q. lanuginosa D.Don 1825 nom. illeg. = Q. lanata

Subspecies and
varieties

-- var. eriocarpa A.Camus 1935
very tomentose mature fruit; very broad, often strongly toothed leaves; young leaves with yellow hairs; anthers not elongated, smooth;

-- var. leiocarpa A.Camus 1935
= subsp leiocarpa (A.Camus) Menitsky 1973 Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 126
glabrous mature fruit; leaves narrowly oval, less deeply toothed; young leaves with greyish white hairs; anthers elongated, mucronate; Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam;

-- Q. leucotrichophora A.Camus 1935 (A. Camus n° 134)
= Q. incana Roxb.
= Q. dealbata Wall. not Hook.f.q
=
Q. oblongata D.Don 1825
Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 57
is sometimes considered as a true species with the following distinctive features : acorn maturing in 2 years (but this is not quite certain); leaves 4 or 5 times as long as wide, entire only near base, whitish tomentose beneath; twig completely glabrous at maturity; not hardy in England, only in South France (zone 8); introduced in England in 1810.
Both "species" are often confused; all the more so since they live together in India ! May be they are actually varieties ?....in Flora of China (2008), Q. lanata and Q. leucotrichophora are synonyms.

Pictures

drawing of Q. lanata