''Quercus elliptica'' is a Mesoamerican species of
oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
tree. It is widespread across central and southern Mexico and Central America from
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
and
Hidalgo
Hidalgo may refer to:
People
* Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility
* Hidalgo (surname)
Places
Mexico
:''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)''
* Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico
* Hidalgo, Coah ...
south as far as
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
.
[Romero Rangel, S., E. C. Rojas Zenteno & M. L. Aguilar Enríquez. 2002. El género ''Quercus'' (Fagaceae) en el estado de México. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89(4): 551–593]
in Spanish, with line drawings of each species It is classified in
''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''.
Description
''Quercus elliptica'' is a tree growing up to tall with a trunk as much as in diameter. The
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are thick and leathery, up to long, elliptical with wavy edges but no teeth or lobes.
[Née, Luis 1801. Anales de Ciencias Naturales 3(9): 278]
short diagnosis
Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...
in Latin, description in Spanish
Habitat and range
''Quercus elliptica'' is found in oak forests, cloud forests, and pine–fir (''Abies'') forests from 300 to 2400 meters elevation. It is mostly restricted to granite soils. ''Quercus elliptica'' is often dominant and common where it is found.
[
''Quercus elliptica'' ranges across central and southern Mexico. Its range extends from the central ]Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
of Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
in the northwest through western Nayarit
Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...
, including Sierra de San Juan, and western Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, including the Sierra de Vallejo and Sierra de Manantlán
Sierra (Spanish for " mountain range" or " mountain chain" and " saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las N ...
. It also ranges through the Sierra Madre del Sur
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.
Geography
The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...
and Sierra Madre de Oaxaca
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southeastern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz.
Geography
The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a sout ...
of Guerrero and Oaxaca states. There are populations in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and dur ...
of Michoacán and Mexico states. In Chiapas it is found in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas
The Sierra Madre is a major mountain range in Central America. It is known as the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ...
and Chiapas Highlands, including Lagunas de Montebello National Park
Lagunas de Montebello, or Montebello Lakes, () is a national park in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, comprising 59 multi-colored lakes in a Central American pine–oak forests, pine forest and two Maya civilization, ...
.[
There are only two citations in Guatemala, in the ]Sierra de las Minas
Sierra de las Minas is a mountain range in eastern Guatemala which extends 130 km west of the Lake Izabal. It is 15–30 km wide and bordered by the valleys of the Polochic River in the north and the Motagua River in the south. Its we ...
and in Camotán
Camotán is a municipality in the Chiquimula department of Guatemala.
History
2001 famine
On 3 August 2001, Camotán municipality declared yellow code in the area when it learned about the desperate situation that the rural communities were ...
. It is also found in the Maya Mountains
The Maya Mountains are a mountain range located in Belize and eastern Guatemala, in Central America.
Etymology
The Maya Mountains were known as the ''Cockscomb'' or ''Coxcomb Mountains'' to Baymen and later Belizeans at least until the mid ...
of Belize, and in the highlands of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.[
]
Conservation
Because of its wide range and abundant populations it is rated Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
. Despite habitat loss in parts of its range its population is considered stable.[
'']Phytophthora cinnamomi
''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease".
O ...
'', the fungal parasite known as Sudden Oak Death, has been found in ''Quercus elliptica''.[
]
References
External links
photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Honduras in 1938
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15338241
elliptica
Oaks of Mexico
Plants described in 1801
Flora of Central America
Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Flora of the Sierra Madre del Sur
Flora of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca
Flora of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
Chiapas montane forests
Central American pine–oak forests
Flora of the Central American montane forests
Cloud forest flora of Mexico