Quercus afares | |
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African oak trunk | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Fagaceae |
Genus: | Quercus |
Species: | Q. afares |
Binomial name | |
Quercus afares | |
Quercus afares, the African oak, is a species of oak native to Algeria and Tunisia. It has a very limited distribution in the coastal mountains of the eastern Tell Atlas in Algeria, and the Mogod-Kroumerie region of northwestern Tunisia. Quercus afares is deciduous, with a corky bark (thinner than that of the cork oak, Q. suber), and can reach 25–30 metres in height. It grows in dense stands, associated with cork oak at elevations as low as 200 metres, and with the semi-deciduous Algerian oak (Q. canariensis) from 700 to 1600 metres elevation. Q. afares can also be found in monospecific stands, especially above 1200 metres on soils damaged by fire. It is endemic to the eastern coastal portion of the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests ecoregion.
The relationship of Q. afares to other oaks has recently undergone a revision. It was initially classified in section Cerris , because of morphological similarities with two other species, Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) of southern Europe and chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia) of the Caucasus and northern Iran. A genetic analysis using both nuclear (allozymes) and chloroplastic markers found that Q. afares originated as a hybrid of Q. suber and Q. canariensis. Although it is common for oaks of related species to hybridize, the parent species of Q. afares are from genetically distant sections of the genus, Q. suber from section Cerris and Q. canariensis from section Mesobalanus . C. Mir et al. maintain that because Q. afares is genetically, morphologically and ecologically differentiated from its parental species, it should therefore be considered a stabilised hybrid species. Like Q. suber, it has a biennial reproductive cycle, corky bark, and similar fruit, and also does not occur on limestone soils. Unlike Q. suber, which is limited to coastal areas with mild winters, Q. afares shares the cold-tolerance of Q. canariensis which shares some of its mountain habitats.
Quercus cerris, the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of Quercus sect. Cerris, a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, bristle-tipped leaf lobes, and acorns that usually mature in 18 months.
Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period.
Quercus variabilis, the Chinese cork oak, is a species of oak in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, native to a wide area of eastern Asia in southern, central, and eastern China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
William Lucombe was a horticulturalist and nurseryman, who discovered and gave his name to the natural hybrid Lucombe Oak, a semi-deciduous oak tree.
Quercus canariensis, the Algerian oak, Mirbeck's oak or zean oak, is an oak in the section Quercus sect. Mesobalanus, native to southern Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Despite the scientific name, it does not occur naturally today in the Canary Islands, though it may have in the past.
Quercus faginea, the Portuguese oak, is a species of oak native to the western Mediterranean region in the Iberian Peninsula. Similar trees in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa are usually included in this species, or sometimes treated as a distinct species, Quercus tlemcenensis. It occurs in mountains from sea level to 1,900 metres above sea level, and flourishes in a variety of soils and climates. Out of all the oak forests in the Iberian Peninsula, the southern populations of Portuguese oak were found to have the highest diversity and endemism of spider species.
The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, the borders between these regions are not clearly defined, and there are some similarities across the peninsula.
The Mediterranean woodlands and forests is an ecoregion in the coastal plains, hills, and mountains bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean in North Africa. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests is an ecoregion, in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which occupies the high mountain ranges of North Africa. The term is also a botanically recognized plant association in the African and Mediterranean literature.
The Balkan mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of southeastern Europe according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency. It belongs in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and the Palearctic realm.
The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
The Italian sclerophyllous and deciduous forests ecoregion, part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in Italy. The ecoregion covers most of the Italian Peninsula and includes both evergreen and deciduous forests.
The Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an ecoregion in southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, and Malta.
The Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.
The Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Quercus hartwissiana, the Strandzha oak, is a species of oak, native to southeastern Bulgaria, northern Asia Minor along the Black Sea, and the Caucasus. It was described by the Finnish-born Russian botanist and entomologist Christian von Steven in 1857.
The Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, encompassing coastal lowlands and mountains in portions of Portugal and Spain.
The Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the interior valleys and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula. The ecoregion lies mostly in Spain, and includes some portions of eastern Portugal.
Quercus × crenata, commonly known as Spanish oak, is a tree in the family Fagaceae. It is a hybrid between the European trees Turkey oak and cork oak. This hybrid has in the past often been called Quercus × hispanica, a name that properly refers to presumed hybrids between Portuguese oak and Quercus suber.
The Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It extends along the Pyrenees mountains which run east and west along the border between France and Spain, and includes all Andorra. The ecoregion extends from the lower slopes of the Pyrenees to its highest peaks, which include Aneto, Posets, and Vignemale.