Quercus buckleyi Nixon & Dorr

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Quercus buckleyi' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-buckleyi/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

Genus

  • Quercus
  • Subgen. Quercus, Sect. Lobatae

Common Names

  • Buckley Oak
  • Texas Red Oak

Synonyms

  • Q. texana Young

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

cupule
Cup-shaped structure formed from coalescent bracts. Typical of Fagaceae and Nothofagaceae. May be dehiscent (as in e.g. Castanea) or indehiscent (as in e.g. Quercus).
acorn
Fruit of Quercus; a single-seeded nut set in a woody cupule.
acute
Sharply pointed.
bud
Immature shoot protected by scales that develops into leaves and/or flowers.
ciliate
Fringed with long hairs.
cupule
Cup-shaped structure formed from coalescent bracts. Typical of Fagaceae and Nothofagaceae. May be dehiscent (as in e.g. Castanea) or indehiscent (as in e.g. Quercus).
entire
With an unbroken margin.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
key
(of fruit) Vernacular English term for winged samaras (as in e.g. Acer Fraxinus Ulmus)
lamina
Leaf blade.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
petiole
Leaf stalk.
pubescent
Covered in hairs.
tomentum
Dense layer of soft hairs. tomentose With tomentum.
turbinate
Spinning-top shaped; inversely conical; obconical.

References

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Credits

Article from New Trees by John Grimshaw & Ross Bayton

Recommended citation
'Quercus buckleyi' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-buckleyi/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

Tree to 15 m. Branchlets grey, black or reddish brown, smooth or furrowed. Leaves deciduous, 5.5–10 × 5–11 cm, broadly elliptic to obovate or almost circular, glabrous, upper surface glossy green, lower surface coppery green, with tufts of hair in the vein axils, three to four secondary veins on each side of the midrib, margins with five to nine deeply divided lobes, lobes largely triangular, expanding and terminating in spiny bristles (12–35 in total), apex acute to acuminate; petiole 2–4.5 cm long, glabrous. Cupule cup- or goblet-shaped, 1–1.8 × 0.5–1.2 cm, outer surface glabrous, inner surface glabrous but for a few hairs on acorn scar; scales acute, occasionally tuberculate, apices appressed. Acorn broadly ovoid to ellipsoid, one-third to half of its length enclosed in the cupule, 1.2–1.9 cm long, stylopodium may be surrounded by several rings. Fruiting in the following year (USA). Nixon 1997. Distribution USA: Oklahoma, Texas. Habitat Limestone ridges and slopes and along small streams between 150 and 500 m asl. USDA Hardi ness Zone 6. Conservation status Least Concern. Illustration Nixon 1997; NT711.

Quercus buckleyi is frequently confused with Q. texana Buckley and several other Texan red oaks. A key to the group in the wild state is therefore provided below.

1a.Leaves with petioles 0.5–2 cm long; lamina entire or with 3–5 pronounced lobes or 8–10 teeth or shallow lobes; within USA, restricted to Texas2
1b.Leaves with petioles 2–6 cm long; lamina with 5–11 pronounced oblong lobes; within USA, also occurring outside Texas3
2a.Tree to 13 m tall; leaves 4.5–14 × 2–12 cm, ovate to elliptic in outline, with 3–5 acute lobes and 9–20 bristles; cupule turbinate or deeply cup-shaped, covering one-third to half of acorn; USA (Texas: Davis, Glass and Chisos Mts.), Mexico (Coahuila)Q. gravesii
2b.Tree to 8 m tall; leaves 4.5–9 × 1–2.5 cm, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic in outline, entire or with 8–10 teeth or shallow lobes, 1–9 bristles; cupule saucer-shaped, covering one-quarter to one-third of acorn; USA (Texas: Chisos Mts.)Q. graciliformis
3a.Tree to 15 m tall; leaf bud scales often distinctly ciliate; mature lamina glabrous below or with minute tufts of tomentum (often detectable only with magnification) in vein axils; USA (Oklahoma, Texas)Q. buckleyi
3b.Tree 25–35 m tall; leaf bud scales usually entire; mature lamina with conspicuous tufts of tomentum (readily discernible to naked eye) in vein axils of lower surface4
4a.Cupule with thin wall (< 1.5 mm thick), deeply goblet-shaped, covering one-third to half of acorn, inner surface pubescent; USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas)Q. texana
4b.Cup with thick wall (> 1.5 mm thick), saucer- or cup-shaped, covering one-quarter to one-third of acorn, inner surface glabrous or with ring of hairs around scar; Canada (Ontario), USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia)Q. shumardii

Quercus buckleyi is a southern representative of the red oaks, allied to Q. shumardii, but slower growing and remaining a smaller tree, tolerant of drought and alkaline soils (Sternberg 2004). Melendrez (2000) has praised its autumnal colour, and noted the variation between deep to bright red and golden yellow in different localities in the wild. In summer the comparatively small leaves are a dull mid-green, with a red petiole. Quercus buckleyi would seem to be a useful red oak for warm, dry climates. It grows reasonably well in the United Kingdom, a specimen at the Hillier Gardens having reached over 10 m in height (date of planting unknown, but prior to 1976). A younger one (Sir Harold Hillier 563), accessioned as a seedling in 1986, is now c.6 m tall. Eike Jablonski (pers. comm. 2006) collected Q. buckleyi, Q. gravesii and Q. shumardii on the same visit to New Mexico in 2000; all have done well at Ettelbruck and Kruchten, but Q. gravesii has the best autumn colour and Q. shumardii has grown fastest.