Quercus ithaburensis

Quercus ithaburensis, the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family.

Quercus ithaburensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Quercus
Section: Quercus sect. Cerris
Species:
Q. ithaburensis
Binomial name
Quercus ithaburensis
Synonyms[1]

It is found in Southeastern Europe, from southeastern Italy,[2] southern Albania and Greece,[3] and in southwestern Asia from Turkey south through Lebanon, Israel, Syria,[4] and neighboring Jordan,[5] whose national tree it is.

Quercus ithaburensis is a small to medium-sized semi-evergreen to tardily deciduous tree growing to a maximum height of around 50 feet (15 m) with a rounded crown and often with a gnarled trunk and branches. The leaves are 1.6-3.5 in (4–9 cm) long and 0.8-2.0 in (2–5 cm) wide, oval in shape, with 7 to 10 pairs of either teeth (most common) or shallow lobes (rare) along a revolute margin. They are dark glossy green above and gray tomentose below.[6][7]

The male flowers are light green 2 in (5 cm) long catkins while the female flowers are small (less than 1/10 in (0.4 mm)), produced in 3's on short stalks called peduncles and are wind pollinated. Flowering occurs from March through April in most of its native range. The acorns are generally oval, up to 2 in (5 cm) long and 1.2 in (3 cm) wide with a cap covering roughly 1/3 of the acorn, maturing in 18 months, dropping from the tree in the 2nd fall after pollination. The cap is covered in long stiff loose scales which are rolled backwards or involute especially along the edges of the cap.[6][7] [8]

See also

References
  1. "Quercus ithaburensis Decne.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
  2. Altervista Flora Italiana, Quercus ithaburensis Decne. includes many photos
  3. Baldacci, Antonio 1895. Malpighia 9: 351-352 in Italian, as Quercus cretica
  4. Decaisne, Joseph 1835. Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, sér. 2 4: 348-349 description in Latin, commentary in French
  5. Mouterde, Paul 1966. Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie 1: 365
  6. Oaks of the World: Quercus ithaburensis
  7. Wild Flowers of Israel: Quercus ithaburensis
  8. Menitsky, Yu.L. (2005). Oaks of Asia. Science Publishers ISBN 1-57808-229-3.
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