Quercus oocarpa explained

Quercus oocarpa is a Mesoamerican species of oak.

It is native to Central America and southern Mexico, with an isolated population in the canyons of Jalisco in western Mexico.[1]

Description

Quercus oocarpa is a large forest tree frequently more than 25m (82feet) tall, evergreen or deciduous, with a trunk as much as 100cm (00inches) in diameter. The leaves are sometimes as much as 45cm (18inches) long, broadly egg-shaped with numerous small pointed teeth along the edges.[2]

Range and habitat

Quercus oocarpa ranges from southwestern Mexico (Nayarit, Jalisco, and Guerrero states, and possibly Chiapas), through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica to Panama. Some specimens of Quercus insignis M.Martens & Galeotti from Chiapas have been confused with this species.

It inhabits humid montane forests, including cloud forests and pine–oak–Liquidambar forests, between 1400 and 2000 meters elevation.

Notes and References

  1. Muller, C. H. 1942. The Central American species of Quercus. United States Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant Industry. Miscellaneous Publication 477: 1–216
  2. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/46657#page/67/mode/1up McVaugh, R. 1974. Flora Novo-Galiciana: Fagaceae. Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 12:63-64