| Quercus affinis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
| Section: | Quercus sect. Lobatae |
| Species: | Q. affinis |
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus affinis | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Quercus affinis is a species of oak native only to Mexico, mostly to the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests.
Quercus affinis is a medium-sized evergreen tree which grows up to 16 or 20 meters tall. [1] The leaves are dark green and glossy with toothed edges. Young leaves are sometimes flushed bronze. Trees produce flowers and catkins in the spring, which by autumn mature into small, rounded acorns up to 1.5 cm long. [3] With its laurel-like leaves it can be confused with its close relative Q. laurina , with which it easily hybridizes in the wild. [4]
Quercus affinis ranges through the mountains of eastern Mexico, between 1200 and 2600 meters elevation. Its range includes the Sierra Madre Oriental of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, and Veracruz states, the eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of Veracruz and Puebla, and the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Puebla and Oaxaca, with some outlying populations in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero. [1]
Quercus affinis is typically found in cloud forest, frequently associated with Liquidambar styraciflua . It also found in oak forests, pine–oak forests, and pine forests. It favors shallow karstic limestone soils with acid pH. [1]
The pine–oak forests of Mexico have been extensively logged for timber, firewood, and charcoal. Other threats include habitat loss from forest clearing for cattle pasture and agriculture. [1]
Despite logging and loss of habitat across its range, its population is considered stable. [1]
It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3]
The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America, and Antarctica.
Quercus lancifolia is a species of oak found in Central America and Mexico.
The Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of northeastern and Central Mexico, extending into the state of Texas in the United States.
Quercus germana, the Mexican royal oak, is a species of oak tree in the family Fagaceae. It is native to mountain cloud forests in eastern Mexico. It is placed in section Quercus.
Quercus macdougallii is a species of plant in the family Fagaceae. It is placed in section Quercus.
Quercus uxoris is an uncommon species of oak.
Quercus polymorpha, the Mexican white oak, Monterrey oak or netleaf white oak, is a North American species of oak. It is widespread in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, and known from a single population in the United States but widely planted as an ornamental.
Quercus delgadoana is an endangered species of oak in the family Fagaceae, found in eastern Mexico. It was originally misidentified as other members of the genus Quercus, but was determined as a new species in 2011.
Quercus repanda is a species of oak endemic to the mountains of central Mexico.
Quercus glabrescens is a species of oak. It is endemic to the mountains of east-central Mexico.
Quercus calophylla is a Mesoamerican species of oak tree. It is native to mountain forests of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It has incorrectly been known as Quercus candicans.
Quercus castanea is a species of oak tree. It is widespread across much of Mexico, from Sonora to Chiapas, and in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
Quercus hirtifolia is a rare Mexican species of oak. It has been found only in a small region of the southern Sierra Madre Oriental in northern Puebla and eastern Hidalgo states in east-central Mexico.
Quercus acherdophylla is a species of oak native to Mexico.
Quercus sapotifolia is a species of oak. It is native to southern and western Mexico as well as Central America. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Quercus cortesii is a species of oak native to Central America and southern Mexico.
Quercus nixoniana is an endangered species of oak tree native to southern Mexico. It is found in humid mountain forests of southwestern Mexico, in the states of Jalisco, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.
Quercus paxtalensis is a species of oak endemic to Mexico.
Quercus pinnativenulosa is a species of oak endemic to Mexico.
Quercus furfuracea is a species of oak native to eastern Mexico.
