''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 ...

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