Quercus acherdophylla Trel.

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The International Dendrology Society, The Wynkcoombe Arboretum, and several private individuals

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2026)

Recommended citation
Coombes, A. & Cameron, R. (2026), 'Quercus acherdophylla' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-acherdophylla/). Accessed 2026-05-18.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Quercus
Subgen. Quercus, Sect. Lobatae

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

berry: Fleshy indehiscent fruit with seed(s) immersed in pulp.
IPNI: International Plant Names Index. Database of plant names and associated details.
acute: Sharply pointed.
apex: (pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
dbh: Diameter (of trunk) at breast height. Breast height is defined as 4.5 feet (1.37 m) above the ground.
entire: With an unbroken margin.
hybrid: Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).
synonym: (syn.) (botanical) An alternative or former name for a taxon usually considered to be invalid (often given in brackets). Synonyms arise when a taxon has been described more than once (the prior name usually being the one accepted as correct) or if an article of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature has been contravened requiring the publishing of a new name. Developments in taxonomic thought may be reflected in an increasing list of synonyms as generic or specific concepts change over time.
variety: (var.) Taxonomic rank (varietas) grouping variants of a species with relatively minor differentiation in a few characters but occurring as recognisable populations. Often loosely used for rare minor variants more usefully ranked as forms.

References

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2026)

The lanceolate, entire foliage of Quercus acherdophylla reminded Trealease of the leaves of the wild pear, inspiring him to choose the unusual epithet; Chevithorne Barton, 9 October 2016. Image Jan Awouters.

Tree to 15 m or more (over 30 m × 1.5 m in the wild). Bark greenish grey and smooth when young, soon becoming fissured with small scales. Branchlets stiff and slender, at first covered in scaly hairs that are easily detached, then dull reddish brown with inconspicuous white or brown lenticels. Leaves evergreen (deciduous in the wild, according to Trelease) dark green, 6–7 × 2–3 cm, lanceolate or oblong elliptic, bronze and hairy when young, later bright glossy green and glabrous above, glabrous or thinly hairy beneath with small tufts of hairs in the vein axils and along the midrib; 8–16 secondary veins on each side of the midrib, margins entire and slightly curled to undulate, lamina surface sometimes rather bullate, apex acute to rounded, tip aristate, base rounded, obtuse, or cuneate; petiole 0.2–0.7 cm long and largely glabrous. Infructescences 0.5 cm long with one to two cupules. Cupule saucer-shaped, to 1 cm diameter; scales brown, blunt and appressed. Acorn ovoid, with half of its length enclosed in the cupule, ~1.4 cm long. Annual maturation, flowering April, acorns ripening October and November (Mexico). (Trelease 1924; le Hardÿ de Beaulieu & Lamant 2010; Valencia-A. et al. 2017; Ruiz-JIménez et al. 1999)

Distribution Mexico Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz

Habitat Very humid ravines in cloud forest and riparian forests, in association with Q. delgadoana, Q. hirtifolia, Q. laurina, and Q. repanda; 1600–2500 m,

USDA Hardiness Zone 7

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Data deficient (DD)

Quercus acherdophylla appears to have been introduced to the UK by Michael Frankis in 1991, but it was introduced seven years earlier to New Zealand by Bob Berry, who collected it in Hidalgo. According to Berry, it was a rather slow grower at his Hackfalls Arboretum (Cameron 2020), but in the UK it is praised as ‘vigorous’ (Edwards & Marshall 2019) and reported to ‘grow astonishingly fast with a good upright habit’ (Heathcoat Amory 2009). Though Trelease described it as deciduous, and in cultivation it has proved exceptionally hardy. At Aiken, in South Carolina, it is reported to be dormant in winter, a characteristic that may have helped it survive what proved for many oaks a lethal combination of a mild winter and a later –7°C frost in March 2017 (Russell 2017). At Arboretum de la Bergerette in France, it has proved hardy enough to survive winter temperatures typically as low as –7°C, but it did not withstand severe drought; a fast-growing replacement tree requires watering to survive dry spells (Haddock 2012). At Arboretum des Pouyuleix, France, a tree grown from Puebla seed collected in 2008 was 7.5 m × 14.3 cm in 2021 (B. Chassé, pers. com.) At Iturraran Botanic Garden it has held on to its leaves through –6°C winters, prompting Francisco Garin to ponder whether Trelease may not have stated it was deciduous because it lost its foliage during summer drought (F. Garin, pers. comm. 2022). It is also at Arboretum Chocha, France.

This has proved to be a small to medium-sized tree in cultivation, apparently reaching a ceiling at around 15 m, but according to Ruiz-Jiménez et al. (1999), specimens of up to 36 m tall and 1.3 m dbh were found in Oaxaca. Opinion is divided on its horticultural merit: Grimshaw and Bayton (2009) complained of an untidy look caused by sparsely clad, long new shoots in late summer and heavy branches from the base, but others praise its arching limbs, its hardiness in many parts of England, and capacity to thrive in a variety of conditions (Edwards & Marshall 2019, Heathcoat Amory 2009).

It is grown in several arboreta in the UK: the tallest tree grows at Chevithorne Barton, reaching 15 m in 2012 (The Oaks of Chevithorne Barton 2022), while the champion for girth is a specimen at RHS Garden Rosemoor, planted in 1997, with a 29 cm dbh in 2017. Also-rans include trees in Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire (10 m × 20 cm dbh, 2021), Wynkcoombe Arboretum, Sussex (8.8 m × 23 cm dbh, 2020), Thorpe Perrow Arboretum, Yorkshire (6.5 × 22 cm dbh, 2022), and Thenford House, Northamptonshire (5.0 m 7 cm, 2019) (The Tree Register 2025). Where Q. hirtifolia grows with Q. acherdophylla, hybrids between the two species can be found. Two trees at Chevithorne Baton, grown from seed collected as Q. hirtifolia, are this hybrid (pers. obs AJC 2023, see photos below).

The apparently conflicting descriptions this species has received may be due in part to problems with identification. It can be confused with Quercus laurina and Q. affinis, from which it can be distinguished by its annual fruits (biennial in Q. laurina and Q. affinis). In addition, the leaves of Q. acherdophylla are less leathery than the other two species, and have entire margins and an acute to rounded apex (toothed in the upper half and a usually acute apex in Q. laurina and Q. affinis) (Valencia-A. et al. 2017). The earliest introduction to cultivation outside Mexico, at Hackfalls Arboretum, was identified by Bob Berry as Q. perseifolia (a synonym of Q. sapotifolia), until Allen Coombes identified it as Q. acherdophylla in 2004 (Berry 2016).

According to Trelease the leaves are similar to those of the wild pear, hence the epithet (from Ancient Greek ἄχερδος (ákherdos) “wild pear” + φύλλον (phúllon) “leaf”). This appears to be the only instance of a botanical epithet derived from ἄχερδος (IPNI 2022).

Quercus acherdophylla is fast-growing and is making a very attractive tree at Wynkcoombe Arboretum, Sussex, UK. August 2021. Image Maricela Rodriguez.

The bright springtime flush of new leaves on a Quercus acherdophylla planted in 1997 at RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon, UK. 8 May 2017. Image Owen Johnson.

A young Quercus acherdophylla at Halloughton Grange, Warwickshire, UK, 24 July 2023. Image Roderick Cameron.

The dark green leaves of Quercus acherdophylla often have wavy edges. Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, August 2021. Image Béatrice Chassé.

New growth on Quercus acherdophylla at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, in August 2021 shows the hairy young leaves and shoots. Image Béatrice Chassé.

The glossy green leaves of Quercus acherdophylla are often slightly bullate with undulate margins. Wynkcoombe Arboretum, Sussex, UK. August 2021. Image Maricela Rodriguez.

Shiny summer foliage and developing acorns on Quercus acherdophylla at Halloughton Grange, Warwickshire, UK; 24 July 2023. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus acherdophylla foliage on a plant at Chevithorne Barton, Devon, UK in October 2012. It was grown from seed collected in Puebla, Mexico in 1996. Image ©James MacEwen.

Quercus acherdophylla foliage at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK. September 2012. Image © Koen Camelbeke, Arboretum Wespelaar.

The leaf margins of Quercus acherdophylla are entire and slightly curled to undulate; Halloughton Grange, Warwickshire, UK, 24 July 2023. Image Roderick Ameron.

The leaves of Quercus acherdophylla are glossy green and glabrous beneath when mature and with no teeth. Wynkcoombe Arboretum, Sussex, UK. August 2021. Image Maricela Rodriguez.

The leaves of Quercus acherdophylla lose most of their hairs as they age. Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, August 2021. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Glabrous leaf undersides of Quercus acherdophylla at Halloughton Grange, Warwickshire, UK, 24 July 2023. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus acherdophylla acorns on the current year's shoots at Chevithorne Barton, Devon, UK in October 2012. It was grown from seed collected in Puebla, Mexico in 1996. Image ©James MacEwen.

Quercus acherdophylla foliage on thin branchlets, from a tree at Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium (10 November 2024). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Even better growth on the same Quercus acherdophylla during winter (Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium 14 January 2026). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Quercus acherdophylla has dark, thin leaves, apically bristle-tipped (Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium – 10 November 2024). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Slender, initially quite pubescent shoot and lamina lower surfaces with the pubescence restricted along the midrib on Quercus acherdophylla (Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium – 10 November 2024). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Leaf variation on Quercus acherdophylla, showing the margin more or less flat to undulate (Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium 14 January 2026). Image © Jan De Langhe.

The thin leaves, here with more pointed larger laminas on Quercus acherdophylla, easily become freckles in winter (Arboretum Het Leen Eeklo, Belgium 14 January 2026). Image © Jan De Langhe.

The hybrid of Quercus acherdophylla with Q. hirtifolia at Chevithorne Barton, Devon, UK in June 2023. It is making a vigorous, hardy and attractive tree. Image Allen Coombes.

Foliage of the hybrid of Quercus acherdophylla with Q. hirtifolia at Chevithorne Barton in June 2023. Image Allen Coombes.

Foliage of the hybrid of Quercus acherdophylla with Q. hirtifolia showing the leaf underside at Chevithorne Barton in June 2023. Image Allen Coombes.

A young plant of Quercus acherdophylla at Halloughton Grange is likely to be a hybrid with Q. hirtifolia, under which name it was grown. Such hybrids have been found in the north of Puebla, Mexico, where the two species are often found growing together. Image Maricela Rodriguez.

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Family

Genus

Other taxa in genus

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

References

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