Quercus Autopista Group

We propose this name for plants in cultivation grown as Q. “Autopista” or Q. aff. miquihuanensis. They derive from an undescribed species in Oaxaca. It takes this descriptor from the site of its discovery, a Mexican motorway: autopista.

In 2008 Allen Coombes and Maricela Rodriguez collected seed from evergreen shrubs 2–3 m tall at 2280 m next to a new motorway (autopista) in Oaxaca, and this is what has been called Quercus “Autopista”. Plants of this growing side by side with Q. miquihuanensis at Arboretum des Pouyouleix show that they are very similar in foliage, although in the UK, such as at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, the leaves of Q. miquihuanensis, from the same collection, are much narrower. Q. Autopista Group can have larger, less revolute leaves, to 12 cm long and has more leaves with teeth, particularly on second growths, but the size is very variable. The nearby plants of Q. miquihuanensis have leaves up to about 10 cm long. They have a very similar habit, and both have reached larger sizes and with larger leaves than in the wild. However, Q. Autopista Group has annual acorns while in Q. miquihuanensis they are biennial. At Arboretum des Pouyouleix, both species have reached between 4 and 5 m tall (Chassé 2025). Coombes (2024) reported that in 2024 plants of Q. Autopista Group in the Puebla University Botanic Garden started to flower on second growths in August. These inflorescences were larger than normal with more female flowers. Some acorns from this flowering were ripe by January 2025.

It is in cultivation at Arboretum des Pouyouleix and Arboretum de la Bergerette in France and at Penrice Castle in Wales.