''Quercus pyrenaica'', commonly known as Pyrenean oak, is a tree native to southwestern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and northwestern

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Despite its common name, it is rarely found in the

Pyrenees Mountains The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

and is more abundant in northern Portugal and north and northwestern Spain. The oak is cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

for gardens and parks.

Description

''Quercus pyrenaica'' is a tall

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree, often

marcescent Marcescence is the withering and persistence of plant organs that normally are shed, and is a term most commonly applied to plant leaves. The underlying physiological mechanism is that trees transfer water and sap from the roots to the leaves ...

in immature individuals, up to tall, though it is sometimes found as a bush or small tree. It has an average lifespan of 300 years. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

have short petioles and are deeply and irregularly lobed, with four to eight pairs of lobes per leaf. There are stellate hairs on both sides of the leaf. Roots frequently produce suckers. The species has high resprouting capabilities. Quercus pyrenaica brote 2010-4-02 DehesaBoyaldePuertollano.jpg, Seedling Quercus pyrenaica 20150812a.jpg, Leaves and acorns Quercus pyrenaica 20190613a.jpg, Habitat Quercus pyrenaica 20181115a.jpg, ''Quercus pyrenaica'' in winter CheneB13.jpg, Bark texture

Distribution and habitat

''Quercus pyrenaica'' is native to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

and parts of southwest France and northern Morocco inhabiting mainly subatlantic or continental environments up to in elevation. In the Iberian Peninsula, which represents 95% of its population, it occupies mainly the northern portion, south of the

Cantabrian Mountains , etymology=Named after the Cantabri , photo=Cordillera Cantábrica vista desde el Castro Valnera.jpg , photo_caption=Cantabrian Mountains parallel to the Cantabrian Sea seen from Castro Valnera in an east-west direction. In the background, ...

, very common in the west of the Peninsula in the northern half of mountainous Portugal, and rare on the east It is adapted both to sub-humid temperate and Mediterranean semi-arid conditions, from the humid

Peneda-Gerês National Park The Peneda-Gerês National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, ), also known simply as Gerês, is a national park located in northern Portugal. Created in May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. ...

in Portugal, to the semi-arid Spanish central plain. It is also adapted to survive in hot local temperatures. It is thought to have a short growth season to avoid the summer drought. It is often the dominant species in the forests in which it occurs. Its acorns are dispersed by birds and small mammals.

Threats

The species is currently threatened by wild fire which encourage the growth of other oak species that ''Q. pyrenaica'' is unable to compete with, and insect pathogens such as green oak leaf roller moth (''

Tortrix viridana The green oak tortrix, ''Tortrix viridana'', also known as the European oak leafroller and the green oak moth is a distinctive green moth whose larvae feed on tree leaves, especially oak. The head, forebody and front wings are green, the hind win ...

''), the gipsy moth (''

Lymantria dispar ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' be ...

'') and

brown-tail moth The brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several year ...

(''Euproctis chrysorrhoea''); these threats may become of greater concern due to the impact of climate change. Historically the species experienced decline due to charcoal and timber industry, and forestry activities still pose some threat to ''Q. pyrenaica'' but on a much reduced scale.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q899686 pyrenaica Flora of North Africa Trees of Europe Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Flora of France Flora of Morocco Trees of Mediterranean climate Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant trees Ornamental trees Plants described in 1805