Quercus engelmannii |
Quercus gravesii |
|
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Engelmann oak, Engelmann's oak |
Chisos red oak, Graves oak |
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Habit | Trees, subevergreen, to 10 m. Bark gray or whitish, closely furrowed. | Trees, deciduous, to 13 m. Bark black, roughly furrowed. |
Twigs | light brown, 1-1.5 mm diam., densely or sparsely stellate-tomentose, soon glabrate. |
light brown to dark reddish brown, (1-)1.5-2.5 mm diam., glabrous or glabrate. |
Buds | reddish brown, subspheric to broadly ovoid, 1-2 mm, glabrous or basal scales pubescent; stipules persistent about terminal buds. |
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Leaves | blade oblong to elliptic, occasionally lanceolate or ovate, (20-)30-60(-80) × (5-)10-20(-25) mm, base cuneate to cordate, margins entire, undulate, sometimes irregularly toothed, especially toward apex, secondary veins 7-8(-10) on each side, branched, apex acute or broadly rounded; surfaces abaxially blue-green or pale green, densely and loosely glandular-tomentose, quickly glabrate or persistently floccose, especially about base of midrib, at maturity strongly glaucous, adaxially gray-green or pale green, bluish green or glaucous. |
blade ovate to elliptic, 45-140 × 20-120 mm, base rounded (rarely subcordate) to obtuse or cuneate, margins with 3-5 acute lobes, 9-20 awns, apex broadly obtuse or acute to attenuate, occasionally falcate; surfaces abaxially light green or coppery green, glabrous with small axillary tufts of tomentum or pubescent along midrib and veins, adaxially shiny or glossy, glabrous except for scattered pubescence near base and along midrib. |
Acorns | solitary or paired, subsessile or on peduncle to 5-6 mm; cup cup-shaped or shallowly cup-shaped, 8-10 mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, enclosing 1/3 nut, scales 1.5-3 mm wide, strongly and regularly tuberculate near base of cup, gray-pubescent; nut light brown, ovoid or oblong, 15-25 × 12-14 mm, glabrate or puberulent about apex. |
biennial; cup turbinate or deeply cup-shaped, 4.5-8.5 mm high × 7.5-12 mm wide, covering 1/3-1/2 nut, outer surface glabrate, inner surface glabrous to pubescent on inner 2/3, scale tips appressed, less than 4 mm, acute; nut ovoid to ellipsoid, rarely subglobose or oblong, 9-16 × 5.5-11 mm, occasionally striate, glabrous to puberulent, especially at apex, scar diam. 3-6 mm. |
Cotyledons | connate. |
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Terminal | buds brown or reddish brown, ovoid or ellipsoid to subconic, 2-5 mm, glabrous or with tuft of hairs at apex. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Quercus engelmannii |
Quercus gravesii |
|
Phenology | Flowering in spring. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Oak woodlands, margins of chaparral, arroyos, slopes and bajadas | Davis, Glass, and Chisos mountains |
Elevation | 50-1200 m (200-3900 ft) | above 1200 m (above 3900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
TX; n Mexico |
Discussion | Quercus engelmannii is closely related to and possibly conspecific with Q. oblongifolia. The cups of Q. engelmannii are larger, deeper, and generally more tuberculate than those of Q. oblongifolia, and the scales are usually larger. Based on available samples, the nuts of Q. engelmannii are consistently larger than those of Q. oblongifolia, apparently with little, if any, overlap in diameter. Considerably more variation occurs within Q. engelmannii in leaf form, possibly reflecting introgression from other white oak species such as Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. dumosa, and Q. durata (see treatment). On Catalina Island, Quercus engelmannii is known only from a small grove of trees. Putative hybrids between Q. engelmannii and Q. cornelius-mulleri are common in areas of contact between the two species in Riverside and San Diego counties in southern California. Such a population was the basis for Q. acutidens Torrey [Q. dumosa var. acutidens (Torrey) Wenzig]. Other names applied to those populations are Q. macdonaldii var. elegantula Greene and Q. dumosa var. elegantula (Greene) Jepson. Variable in leaf form and stature, those intermediates form extensive populations and are probably best disposed of under the name Q. ×acutidens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Quercus gravesii reportedly hybridizes with Q. hypoleucoides. As noted above, forms of Q. gravesii and Q. robusta are easily confused and give the impression of belonging to a single morphologic continuum. Some authors have also used the name Quercus texana for Q. gravesii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus | Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Lobatae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Q. chisosensis, Q. shumardii var. microcarpa, Q. stellipila, Q. texana var. chisosensis, Q. texana var. stellapila | |
Name authority | Greene: Ill. W. Amer. Oaks 1: 33, plate 17. (1889) | Sudworth: Check List For. Trees U.S., 86. (1927) |
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