| Quercus muehlenbergii | |
| Author | Engelm. 1887 Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 3: 391 |
| Synonyms | acuminata (Michx.) Sarg.
1895 alexanderi Britt. 1901 brayi Small 1901 castanea Muhl. 1801, nom. illeg., not Née muehlenbergii var. brayi (Small) Fang 1918 prinoides var. acuminata (Michx.) Gleason 1952 prinoides var. alexanderi (Britt.) Steyerm. 1960 prinus Coulter prinus L. var. acuminata Michx.1801 rubra var. muehlenbergii (Engelm.) Wenz. 1884 |
| Local names | chinkapin ; yellow chestnut oak ; chinquapin oak ; yellow oak ; |
| Range | Eastern and Central USA; Canada; NE Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas); 0 to 2300 m; introduced in Europe in 1822; |
| Growth habit | reaches 15-30 m tall; crown narrow, tip rounded; shrubby in the northern part of its area; |
| Leaves | 6-12 x 3-9 cm; deciduous; thin but leathery; oboval to oblanceolate; apex acute or acuminate; base cuneate or truncate; margin slightly revolute with 4-11 pairs of shallow lobes, pointed but not spinny; shiny green, glabrescent above; whitish green, hairy beneath (scattered stellate hairs and some glandular ones), then glaucous and greyish when drying; 7-12 pairs of lateral veins, parallel, straight, slightly impressed above, raised beneath; epidermis papillose; petiole yellow, hairless or nearly so, 1-2 cm long; |
| Flowers | late winter, early spring; male inflorescence 4-6 cm; female inflorescence 0.5-2 cm bearing 1-3 flowers; |
| Fruits | acorn 2 cm long, ovoid; dark brown to black; stalkless or nearly so; singly or paired; enclosed 1/2 or 1/3 by the grey tomentose cup; maturing in 1 year in September; cotyledons distinct; |
|
Bark, twigs and |
bark light grey, scaly, thin; twig 1-4 mm thick, reddish, slightly pubescent, becoming hairless and grey, with conspicuous whitish lenticels; buds brown, ovoid to globose, 2-3 mm; stipules 3-4 mm long, more or less glabrous; |
| Hardiness zone, habitat | hardy; all types of soils, including calcareous ones; prefers dry soils; |
| Miscellaneous | -- A. Camus : n°
192 ; -- Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Subsection Prinoideae; -- Henry E. Muehlenberg (1753-1815) was a botanist from Pennsylvania; |
| Subspecies and varieties |
-- Q.sentenelensis C.H.Muller 1937 -- It is not easy to separate the shrubby forms of Q.muehlenbergii
from Q.prinoides, but the
latter bears acorns even on young plants, and layers all around; |
| Pictures |
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