''Quercus delgadoana'' is an endangered species of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

in the family

Fagaceae The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as eve ...

, found in eastern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. It was originally misidentified as other members of the genus ''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ' ...

'', but was determined as a new species in 2011.

Description

Individuals of this species are

trees that grow up to tall and have trunks in diameter. These oaks are often among the tallest trees in the wet montane forests. They are characterized by their thick branchlets and lance-shaped leaves with revolute margins. They bear

acorns Acorns may refer to: * Plural of acorn, the nut of the oak tree * Acorns (company), a micro-investing and robo-advisor financial company * Acorns (suit), one of the four suits in German pattern playing cards * Acorns Children's Hospice Acorns ...

as fruits and have pistillate flowers on a short stalk, which have 1 or 2 distal flowers. ''Quercus delgadoana'' was determined as a new species because, unlike ''Q. eugeniifolia'' with fruit with

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual * Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

maturation, this species has fruit with

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

maturation. In addition, this new species can be distinguished from other similar species such as '' Q. laurina'' and ''Q. affinis'' because it has more secondary veins, a revolute blade margin, and an adaxial leaf surface without stellate

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

s. The flowers may develop in March, but only pistillate flowers can be observed; fruits with biennial maturation can be found in October and November. The fruits take two years to mature and are presented on the terminal twigs.

Taxonomy

''Quercus delgadoana'' is named after Alfonso Delgado Salinas, in recognition of his contributions to

plant taxonomy Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely alli ...

and the encouragement and training he has given to many students in this field of study. It is placed in ''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''.

Habitat and distribution

''Quercus delgadoana'' is endemic to the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

, in the states of Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz. It has been found in

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

communities and humid forests at high altitudes of . This species is commonly found with many other species of the same genus such as '' Q. affinis'' and '' Q. lancifolia'', but is also found with members of different genera such as ''

Fagus grandifolia ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

'' (North American beech).

Conservation

The species was given a preliminary classification of Endangered (EN) according to the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

criteria of 2001.IUCN. 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 3.1. Prepared by the IUCN Species Survival Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, United Kingdom. These forests are highly disturbed due to the extraction of firewood, the clearance of forest for pasture, and the establishment of coffee plantations. As a result, more than 50% of the population is expected to decline. In addition, the future loss of habitat is possible.

References

External links

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16919774 delgadoana Trees of Hidalgo (state) Trees of Puebla Trees of Veracruz Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental Cloud forest flora of Mexico Endemic oaks of Mexico Plants described in 2011