Oaks of the World

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  Quercus pungens
Author

Liebm. 1854 Overs. Kongel. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Forh. Medlemmers Arbeider 1854: 171

Diagnosis here

Synonyms undulata Torr. var. pungens (Liebm.) Engelm. 1877
undulata var. wrightii Engelm. 1876
Local names pungent oak ; sandpaper oak ;
Range C Texas; SE Arizona; New-Mexico; Mexico (Coahuila, Chihuahua, Guanajuato); 800 to 2000 m;
Growth habit not exceeding 5 m tall; often bushy, 0.2-1 m; thicket forming;
Leaves 2-4 (-6) x 1.5-3 cm; evergreen; stiff, thick, rough; elliptic or oblong; apex obtuse or acute; base rounded or seldom acute, sometimes asymmetrical; margin thickened, wavy, mostly with 1-8 pairs of mucronate, pungent teeth, sometimes crenate; glaucous to yellowish green, shiny above, with scattered, small, sessile, stellate hairs, mainly at base of midvein, glabrescent; dull beneath, densely tomentose with small, scattered stellate hairs and simple hairs on midvein; 7-11 vein pairs more evident beneath; epidermis slightly bullate, papillose; petiole 3-6 mm long, slightly hairy;
Flowers in May; male catkins 0.5-2 cm long, with more than 10 flowers; pistillate ones with 1-3 pubescent flowers;
Fruits acorn 1-1.2 cm long; oblong; singly or paired; subsessile or with a short stalk 3 mm long; cup shallow enclosing 1/3 to 1/2 of nut; maturing in 1 year in September;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark grey brown, broken into rough plates; young twigs reddish or yellowish, with numerous stalkless, stellate hairs; buds brown, 1.5-2 mm long; stipules pubescent, deciduous, 3-4 mm long;

Hardiness zone, habitat hardy (withstands -15° C); prefers dry soils, even calcareous ones;
Miscellaneous -- A. Camus : n° 215;
-- Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Series Polymorphae;
-- Numerous forms intermediate between Q.pungens and Q.vaseyana;

Subspecies and
varieties
Q.vaseyana Buckl. : see this name

Pictures