Quercus glabrescens explained

Quercus glabrescens is a species of oak. It is endemic to the mountains of east-central Mexico.

Description

It is a tree up to 15m (49feet) tall with thick leathery leaves up to 11cm (04inches) long, elliptical or egg-shaped with a few wavy lobes along the edges.[1] It is placed in Quercus section Quercus.[2]

Range and habitat

Quercus glabrescens is found in the southern Sierra Madre Oriental, eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and Sierra Madre de Oaxaca ranges, in the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and Oaxaca.[1] Few populations are found in the Sierra de Miahuatlán and Sierra Madre del Sur of southern and western Oaxaca.

Quercus glabrescens is found mainly in mountain cloud forests, and sometimes in cold, humid conifer forests, from 2,270 to 3,000 meters elevation. It is often a dominant species where it is found, and is associated with oyamel (Abies religiosa, Quercus affinis, Q. crassifolia, and Q. rugosa.

Conservation

Quercus glabrescens is locally abundant within its range. Despite some habitat loss from logging and clearing forests for pasture and farms, there no reports of decline, and the population trend is assumed to be relatively stable. The species' conservation status is Least Concern.

Notes and References

  1. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/87374#page/565/mode/1up 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
  2. Web site: Denk . Thomas . Grimm . Guido W. . Manos . Paul S. . Deng . Min . Hipp . Andrew L. . 2017 . Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks . figshare . 2023-02-24 . xls . amp .