Quercus havardii

Last updated

Shinnery oak
Quercus Havardii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Quercus
Section: Quercus sect. Quercus
Species:
Q. havardii
Binomial name
Quercus havardii
Quercus havardii range map 1.png
Natural range of Quercus havardii

Quercus havardii (common names include shinnery oak, shin oak and Havard oak) is a deciduous, low-growing, thicket-forming shrub that occupies some two million to three million hectares (7,700 to 11,600 square miles) in the southern Great Plains of North America. [2] Clones may reach hundreds to thousands of years old, although aboveground stems typically live only 11 to 15 years. Shinnery oak stems are usually 1 to 2 metres (3 feet 3 inches to 6 feet 7 inches) tall and codominate the plant community with mid- and tall-grasses, which are usually taller than the oaks.

Contents

The specific epithet honors U.S. Army surgeon and botanist Valery Havard, who contributed much to the knowledge of southwestern plants. The word "shinnery" seems to be derived from chêne (French for oak), and not from the height of the plant. [3]

Description

Form: A low shrub to 2 metres (6+12 feet) or occasionally a small tree, Q. havardii forms large clonal thickets by extending rhizomes through the sandy soil where it is usually found. [4] Rhizomes range from 3–15 centimetres (1+14–6 inches) in diameter and are concentrated in the upper 60 cm (24 in) of soil, although penetration depths of 9 m (30 ft) have been reported in shifting dunes. Lateral roots and woody rhizomes are widespread near the soil surface. At least 90% of shinnery oak's biomass is underground, and fortuitous root grafting is common. These underground stems commonly spread to form plants 3 to 15 m (10 to 49 ft) or more in diameter. Single clones are reported to cover up to 81 hectares (200 acres) and to achieve ages over 13,000 years. [2]

Flowers: Shinnery oak is monoecious with both female and male flowers borne separately on the same plant. [5] Male catkins are densely flowered, 1.5–3.8 cm long, and hang downward. Female catkins are 3–7 millimetres (1814 in) long, contain 1 to 5 flowers, and are usually axillary on young shoots. Shinnery oaks are wind pollinated, and flowering occurs in the spring.

Acorns: Acorns develop in one year, maturing in the autumn. Acorns occur alone or in clusters of 2 or 3, and are 12–25 mm (12–1 in) long by 14–18 mm wide. A scaly cup covers about 1/3 to 1/2 of the nut. On average, acorn crops are produced in 3 out of 10 years. [4]

Foliage: The leathery, highly variable leaves are grey green to olive green, have a lustrous upper surface, and are whitish and densely hairy below. The leaves are alternate, simple, with variable shape (oblong, ovate, or elliptical), and with wavy or shallowly lobed margins. Their length is 2 to 8 cm (34 to 3+18 in) and width 2 to 4 cm. [3]

Twigs: Twigs are brown or grayish, 1–2.5 mm diameter, glabrous or densely covered with short grayish or yellowish hairs, that are lost with age. The buds are dark red-brown, somewhat spherical, about 2 mm long, and sparsely pubescent.

Bark: Bark on the larger stems is light gray and scaly.

Taxonomy

Shinnery oak populations in Utah and Arizona are considered a variety of shinnery oak (Quercus havardii var. tuckeri) by some taxonomists. However, introgression of shinnery oak with Gambel oak ( Quercus gambelii ) and perhaps shrub live oak ( Quercus turbinella ) make taxonomic identification of these populations difficult. [4]

Shinnery oak hybridizes with Mohr oak ( Quercus mohriana ) and post oak ( Quercus stellata ). Post oak × shinnery oak hybrids are likely to be a result of post oak's historic range, which extended more westerly than it does today. Mohr oak × shinnery oak hybrids are restricted to habitats intermediate to those occupied by the two species. Mohr oak inhabits limestone soils, and shinnery oak occurs on deep sand soils.

Native range

Shinnery oak is native to western Oklahoma, west Texas, eastern New Mexico, and two isolated populations in southwest Kansas. [6] A variety also occurs in northeastern Arizona and southeastern Utah. [7] Sandy plains, sand dunes, and sand hills of the southern Great Plains are typical habitat.

Management

A majority of shinnery oak occurs on private land used for agriculture and/or livestock production. It is considered undesirable on grazing lands, because it competes with better livestock forage and its buds and leaves are toxic to cattle for several weeks in spring. In addition, where cotton is grown near shinnery oak, boll weevils overwinter in the oak litter and infest nearby cotton fields in spring. Thus, most research and other human effort concerning shinnery oak have been devoted to its eradication.

The use of chemical and mechanical control methods has been extensive, making it likely that shinnery oak's distribution is decreasing. Most authorities do not recommend complete eradication of shinnery oak, indicating that forage production is typically greater if some shinnery oak remains in the community. Stocking rates and rotational grazing patterns exist that reduce the incidence of shinnery oak poisoning of cattle. Excessive control of shinnery oak is controversial because it can open sandy soils to wind erosion and can conflict with wildlife-habitat quality. [2]

Shinnery oak sprouts prolifically from rhizomes soon after fire. Researchers described the communities as "extremely fire hardy". [4]

Quercus havardii resprouting Quercus havardii resprouting.jpg
Quercus havardii resprouting

Uses

Because shinnery oak thrives in a harsh environment, it functions as a sand dune stabilizer, protecting sandy soils from wind erosion. It also provides diverse wildlife species cover and food. Collared peccaries, lesser prairie-chickens, northern bobwhites, and many other wildlife species eat shinnery oak acorns. Deer, pronghorn, and southern plains woodrats browse shinnery oak. Shinnery oak habitats are used by black-tailed jackrabbits, desert cottontails, eastern cottontails, wild turkeys, western box turtles, a diversity of arthropods, approximately 25 snake species, and approximately 10 lizard species, including the endangered sand dune lizard ( Sceloporus arenicolus ). [2]

Many game species also rely on shinnery oak. Scaled quail and northern bobwhites use shinnery oak habitats extensively, and shinnery oak habitats are considered "the principal home for white-tailed deer in the southern Great Plains". [2]

Shinnery oak provides rich habitat for wildlife compared with the surrounding shortgrass plains. Maintaining wildlife habitat and improving vegetation for livestock grazing are often in conflict, and should be carefully considered before undertaking control of shinnery oak.

Related Research Articles

<i>Quercus montana</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus montana, the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in southern Michigan. It is also sometimes called rock oak because of its presence in montane and other rocky habitats.

<i>Quercus garryana</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus garryana is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Garry Oak, Oregon white oak or Oregon oak. It grows from sea level to an altitude of 690 feet in the northern part of its range, and from 980 to 5,900 ft in the south of the range in California. The eponymous Nicholas Garry was deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

<i>Quercus macrocarpa</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus macrocarpa, the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, Quercus sect. Quercus, and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub oak. The acorns are the largest of any North American oak, and are important food for wildlife.

<i>Quercus laevis</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus laevis, the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the southeastern United States. The name turkey oak derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey's foot. A Turkish and southern European species Quercus cerris is also commonly referred to as Turkey oak, so Quercus laevis is sometimes referred to as American turkey oak to distinguish it from the European species.

<i>Quercus agrifolia</i> Evergreen oak tree native to California

Quercus agrifolia, the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen live oak native to the California Floristic Province. Live oaks are so-called because they keep living leaves on the tree all year, adding young leaves and shedding dead leaves simultaneously rather than dropping dead leaves en masse in the autumn like a true deciduous tree. Coast live oaks may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is generally a medium-sized tree. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section of oaks.

<i>Quercus laurifolia</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus laurifolia is a medium-sized semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the southeastern and south-central the United States.

<i>Quercus acutissima</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus acutissima, the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Indochina and the Himalayas. It is widely planted in many lands and has become naturalized in parts of North America.

<i>Quercus lyrata</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus lyrata, the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group. The common name, overcup oak, refers to its acorns that are mostly enclosed within the acorn cup. It is native to lowland wetlands in the eastern and south-central United States, in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, inland as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. There are historical reports of it growing in Iowa, but the species appears to have been extirpated there. It is a slow-growing tree that often takes 25 to 30 years to mature. It has an estimated lifespan of 400 years.

Sceloporus arenicolus, the dunes sagebrush lizard, formerly known as the sand dune lizard and the dunes-sagebrush lizard, is an insectivorous spiny lizard species which only occurs in the shinnery oak sand dune systems of extreme southeast New Mexico and only four counties in adjacent Texas. Sceloporus arenicolus has the second-smallest range of all lizards in the United States.

<i>Quercus prinoides</i> Species of plant

Quercus prinoides, commonly known as dwarf chinkapin oak, dwarf chinquapin oak, dwarf chestnut oak or scrub chestnut oak, is a shrubby, clone-forming oak native to central-eastern North America.

<i>Quercus ilicifolia</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus ilicifolia, commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the Eastern United States and, less commonly, in southeastern Canada. Its range in the United States extends from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few populations north of the international frontier in Ontario. The name ilicifolia means "holly-leaved."

<i>Quercus pagoda</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus pagoda, the cherrybark oak, is one of the most highly valued red oaks in the southern United States. It is larger and better formed than southern red oak and commonly grows on more moist sites. Its strong wood and straight form make it an excellent timber tree. Many wildlife species use its acorns as food, and cherrybark oak makes a fine shade tree. Cherrybark oak was formerly considered to be a subspecies of southern red oak, Quercus falcata, subsp pagodifolia.

<i>Quercus turbinella</i> Species of plant

Quercus turbinella is a North American species of oak known by the common names shruboak, turbinella oak, shrub live oak, and gray oak. It is native to Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada in the western United States. It also occurs in northern Mexico.

<i>Quercus arizonica</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus arizonica, the Arizona white oak, is a North American tree species in the beech family. It is found in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, and Durango.

<i>Quercus pungens</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus pungens, commonly known as the sandpaper oak or scrub oak, is a North American species evergreen or sub-evergreen shrub or small tree in the white oak group. There is one recognised variety, Quercus pungens var. vaseyana, the Vasey shin oak. Sandpaper oak hybridizes with gray oak in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas.

<i>Quercus mohriana</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus mohriana, commonly known as the Mohr oak, shin oak or scrub oak, is a North American evergreen shrub or small tree in the white oak group and is native to the south-central United States and north-central Mexico. The species epithet mohriana honors the pharmacist and botanist Charles Mohr of Alabama.

<i>Quercus geminata</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus geminata, commonly called sand live oak, is an evergreen oak tree native to the coastal regions of the subtropical southeastern United States, along the Atlantic Coast from southern Florida northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs.

<i>Calamovilfa longifolia</i> Species of grass

Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region.

<i>Hilaria rigida</i> Species of grass

Hilaria rigida is a species of clumping perennial grass that is widespread in California deserts. It is commonly known as big galleta. It is a monocot in the Hilaria genus of the grass family (Poaceae).

<i>Quercus welshii</i> Species of shrub

Quercus welshii, the wavy leaf oak, shinnery oak, or Tucker oak, is a North American species of shrub in the found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.

References

  1. Kenny, L., Wenzell, K., Beckman, E. (2016). "Quercus havardii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2022.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Peterson, Roger S.; Boyd, Chad S. (1998). "Ecology and management of sand shinnery communities: a literature review. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-16". Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  3. 1 2 Oklahoma Biological Survey. Quercus havardii Rydb.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gucker, Corey L. (2006). "Quercus havardii". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  5. Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus havardii". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. R.L. McGregor Herbarium. Quercus havardii Rydb. herbarium records
  7. Flora of North America. Quercus havardii: Range Map.