Quercus durifolia Seemen

Sponsor

Kindly sponsored by
The Trees and Shrubs Online Oak Consortium

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 durifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-durifolia/). Accessed 2026-06-09.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Quercus
Subgen. Quercus, Sect. Lobatae

Common Names

Durango Emory oak
Encino prieto
Encino colorado

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

berry: Fleshy indehiscent fruit with seed(s) immersed in pulp.
IUCN: World Conservation Union (formerly the International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
Near Threatened: IUCN Red List conservation category: ‘does not qualify for Critically Endangered Endangered or Vulnerable now but is close to qualifying or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future’.
USDA: United States Department of Agriculture.
article: (in Casuarinaceae) Portion of branchlet between each whorl of leaves.
authority: The author(s) of a plant name. The names of these authors are stated directly after the plant name often abbreviated. For example Quercus L. (L. = Carl Linnaeus); Rhus wallichii Hook. f. (Hook. f. = Joseph Hooker filius i.e. son of William Hooker). Standard reference for the abbreviations: Brummitt & Powell (1992).
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).
indigenous: Native to an area; not introduced.
protologue: Text of first publication of a taxon’s name.
section: (sect.) Subdivision of a genus.

References

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2026)

New leaves and catkins on Quercus durifolia at Iturraran Botanical Garden, March 2008 Image Francisco Garin.

Tree to 9 m (up to 15 m), 0.4 m dbh. Bark dark grey, smooth when young, cracking up at base with age. Twigs slender, slightly fluted, ranging from grey-tomentose with very short, dense trichomes, to glossy red and glabrous; grey-brown with yellowish lenticels at maturity. Buds ovoid, shiny, light brown, 0.2 cm long × 0.15 cm wide. Leaves deciduous (can be evergreen in cultivation), (2.5–)4–7 × (0.7–)1–2.5 cm, lanceolate, elliptical or sometimes ovate, immature leaves glossy green with stellate indumentum above, especially at the base of the midrib, below pale green with interlocking stellate indumentum; mature leaves somewhat leathery, greyish-green, very glossy and almost glabrous above but for short dark brown hairs on the midrib, lower surface grey to glaucous with dense indumentum, 6 to 11 secondary veins on each side of the midrib, margins somewhat thickened, barely revolute, slightly wavy, entire, or with several small teeth, apex acute and aristate, base obtuse, slightly cordate, and in some cases truncate; petiole (0.3–)0.5–1.1 cm long, pubescent. Fruit annual, solitary or in pairs, almost sessile; cupule hemispheric, 8 mm in diameter, scales blunt and appressed; acorn ovoid, somewhat silky, with ⅓ to ½ of its length enclosed in the cupule, 0.6–1.3 cm long, stylopodium prominent. Fruiting September (Mexico). (Grimshaw & Bayton 2009; Trelease 1924; Romero Rangel et al. 2015; le Hardÿ de Beaulieu & Lamant 2010).

Distribution Mexico Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Zacatecas

Habitat Oak and pine-oak forest, 1700–2350 m, in association with Arbutus sp., Arctostaphylos sp., Pinus arizonica, P. durangensis, P. engelmannii, and Quercus sideroxyla.

USDA Hardiness Zone 8

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Near threatened (NT)

This species often hybridises with Quercus eduardi in the wild (S. González, pers. comm. 2024), and several of the specimens in cultivation received as Q. durifolia appear to be this hybrid. True Q. durifolia should have mostly entire margins, with only young leaves or occasionally some adult leaves bearing a few teeth; the leaves are somewhat leathery. Several trees in cultivation in the UK and Europe have predominantly toothed leaves or thin leaves, suggesting hybridisation with Q. eduardi. The photos below begin with true Q. durifolia; photos of suspected hybrids with Q. eduardi appear at the bottom.

According to Grimshaw and Bayton (2009), there was little to commend this species: the specimens they had seen at Chevithorne Barton and the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens were leaning, not particularly attractive, with heavy masses of very dark foliage. This view has been contested by Nicholas Smith, who claims that the tree at Wynkcoombe Arboretum received as Q. durifolia is one of the stars of the oak collection there, and ‘one of the most beautiful oaks in Spring, with new leaves and flowers different shades of coppery/red’ (Smith 2024). However, all these specimens appear to be hybrids, so these observations may not apply to true Q. durifolia, which has formed medium-sized attractive trees in other collections. The tree at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens was raised from seed collected in Mexico by Sir Harold Hillier in 1979 (Hillier 586). It appears to be a hybrid with Q. eduardi and was 11.8 m × 33.2 cm in 2023 (B. Clarke, pers. comm. 2025). It was introduced to France at Henri De Brem’s Quercetum de Hanouard, planted around 1981. In 2011, it was described as ‘one of the stars of the collection’ at Hanouard (Chassé 2012).

Plants grown from seed collected by Béatrice Chassé in Chihuahua in 2010 have grown well and display an elegant habit with slender branches and shiny green foliage with whitish undersides. On seeing this species in the wild, Chassé commented that ‘Q. durifolia is one of those Mexican oaks of the section Lobatae whose elegance equals that of the oaks of the [section] Cyclobalanopsis’ (Chassé 2011). Trees from this source can be found at Arboretum des Pouyouleix and Arboretum de la Bergerette in France and at Chevithorne Barton in the UK. They have reached 7 m in Arboretum des Pouyouleix in 2017, around 5 m in Arboretum de la Bergette and 8 m in Chevithorne Barton (B. Chassé, pers. comm. 2024; The Tree Register 2025; pers. obs. RC 2024). At Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, a tree from seed collected in Chihuahua in 2009 has formed a graceful tree with a pyramidal habit, reaching 6 m × 35 cm in 2022 (The Tree Register 2025). An introduction by Thierry Lamant, collected in 2003, reached 7 m at Arboretum des Pouyouleix in 2017 and has been fruiting copiously since 2016 (Chassé 2016); received as Q. eduardi, it was later determined to be a hybrid between Q. durifolia and Q. eduardi, or perhaps true Q. durifolia.

According to The Tree Register (2025), the UK & Ireland champion for height is a tree at Bute Park, Wales (12 m × 87 cm dbh); it appears, however, to be a hybrid. The champion for girth is the tree at Wynkcoombe Arboretum (8 m × 107 cm), also a hybrid with Q. eduardi.

The champion in cultivation may be a tree at Hackfalls Arboretum in New Zealand, from seed collected by Bob Berry in 1989 in Durango (Hackfalls Arboretum 2025). It reached 13.9 m × 26 cm in 2020. A tree from the same source grows at Eastwoodhill Arboretum, New Zealand’s National Arboretum; it was picked out in 2014 by then curator Ben Lyte as one of the noteworthy trees of the oak collection, proving to be evergreen in those conditions, sporting fine, narrow green leaves, and growing slowly in an exposed location (it was planted in 1993 and had reached 3 m in 2014) (Cameron 2014).

The species was described by Seemen in 1900 from a specimen collected by Edward Palmer in Durango in 1896. The authority for the name is sometimes incorrectly given as Seemen ex Loes. Though the name appears in an extended article by Theodore Loesener on the Flora of Central America (Loesener 1900), the treatment of Fagaceae is clearly authored by Seemen. It is possible that confusion arose because the name appears in the publication as ‘Quercus durifolia von Seemen n. sp.’, which some may have interpreted as a name given by Seemen (‘of Seemen’) in a text authored by Loessner; ‘von Seemen’ is in fact part of the full name of Karl Otto von Seemen. The first instance of this error may be in Index Kewensis Suppl. 1, 1886–95, where the name appears as ‘Quercus durifolia Seemen, ex Loes. in Engl. Jarb. xxix. 95’. The epithet durifolia means hard-leaved and derives from Latin durus = hard + folia = leaf, in reference to the leathery leaves (lederartig in Seemen’s protologue). Coincidentally, it is relatively frost hardy, resisting the harsh climate of Stéphane Brame’s collection in the Department of Corrèze, central France (Lamant 2004), and even surviving for a few years in Starhill Forest, Illinois, USA (USDA Zone 6) (Sternberg 1995 and pers. comm. 2024).

Acorns of this species were consumed, fresh or baked, by the indigenous Tepehua and Totonac peoples of Chihuahua (Luna-José et al. 2003). Both the leaves and the bark have been shown to be good sources of polyphenolic oxidants (Gamboa-Gómez et al. 2013; Rosales-Castro et al. 2011).

The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List due to continuing decline in habitat quality and the low density of individuals. However, little attention has been paid to the population trends, and there is no evidence of severe fragmentation or a low number of locations. It is likely the species will be re-evaluated when new information emerges (Jerome et al. 2018).

Quercus durifolia: A mature tree near Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico, September 2008. Image Francisco Garin.

A young Quercus durifolia at Arboretum de la Bergerette, April 2024 Image Shaun Haddock.

A vigorous young Quercus durifolia at Arboretum de la Bergerette, France, in September 2021. It was grown from seed collected by Béatrice Chassé in Chihuahua in 2010. Image Shaun Haddock.

Quercus durifolia: A tree at Iturraran Botanical Garden planted in 1993, from seed collected in Chihuahua in 2008; photographed in June 2011. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Iturraran Botanical Garden, 28 September 2014 Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: A plant at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, seen in July 2023, has remained shrubby for 10 years. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Bark on a mature tree near Creel, Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico, September 2008 Image Francisco Garin.

Foliage of a Quercus durifolia at Kew in August 2021. It was collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

Leaves of Quercus durifolia are usually deciduous but can be evergreen in cultivation; Iturraran Botanical Garden, September 2014 Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia leaves are very glossy and almost glabrous above but for short dark brown hairs on the midrib; Iturraran Botanical Garden, 21 July 2012 Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia leaves are lanceolate, elliptical or sometimes ovate; Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, July 2019. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Shiny greeny Quercus durifolia foliage of the tree at Arboretum de la Bergerette, France, in September 2021. Image Shaun Haddock.

Mature leaves of Quercus durifolia are somewhat leathery and greyish-green; Arboretum de la Bergerette, France, April 2024 Image Shaun Haddock.

Quercus durifolia: Glossy leaves, near Creel, Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico, September 2008. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Leaf undersides on a plant near Creel, Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico, September 2008. Image Francisco Garin.

Leaf undersides of Quercus durifolia are glaucous, with dense indumentum; near Creel, Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico, September 2008. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Foliage at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in July 2023, showing the leaf undersides. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Tomentose leaf undersides at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, July 2019. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Quercus durifolia leaves have 6 to 11 secondary veins on each side of the midrib, and the margins are somewhat thickened, barely revolute, slightly wavy, entire, or with several small teeth; Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, 28 September 2014 Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: Ripening acorn, Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, September 2004. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia acorn among glossy leaves; Iturraran Botanical Garden, 28 September 2014 Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus durifolia: New leaves and catkins, Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, April 2010. Image Francisco Garin.

Foliage of the Bob Berry collection of Quercus durifolia at Eastwoodhill Arboretum, New Zealand in December 2013. Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

A luxuriant oak on a dry sunny bank at the Wynkcoombe Hill Arboretum in West Sussex, UK, planted by Nicholas Smith as Quercus durifolia but believed by Allen Coombes to represent a wild hybrid with Q. eduardi; 28th October 2017. Image Owen Johnson.

Bark of the hybrid between Quercus durifolia and Q. eduardi at Wynkcoombe Arboretum in August 2021. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

A tree at Wynkcoombe Arboretum seen in August 2021 has toothed leaves and is a Quercus durifolia hybrid, probably with Q. eduardi. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

The leaves of the Quercus durifolia × eduardi hybrid at Wynkcoombe Arboretum, seen in August 2021, are only thinly stellate-hairy beneath and have occasional teeth. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

The sparsely hairy leaf undersides and thin leaves indicate the Harold Hillier collection (HILL 586) is a hybrid of Quercus durifolia with Q. eduardi. Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, August 2021. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

The leaves of a Quercus durifolia hybrid with Q. eduardi at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, in August 2021 are tomentose beneath like Q. durifolia but with teeth as in Q. eduardi. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Quercus durifolia: A hybrid with Q. eduardi at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France in July 2019 has the leaves tomentose beneath as in Q. durifolia but often toothed as in Q. eduardi. It was grown from seed collected in Durango, Mexico in 2003. Image Béatrice Chassé.

The leaves of a Quercus durifolia hybrid with Q. eduardi at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, in August 2021 are entire or toothed. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Quercus durifolia: The leaves of a hybrid with Q. eduardi at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France in July 2019 are sparsely stellate-hairy above. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Quercus durifolia: Acorns starting to form on a hybrid with Q. eduardi at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France, in July 2019. Image Béatrice Chassé.

The Harold Hillier collection at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in August 2021. It appears to be a hybrid of Quercus durifolia with Q. eduardi. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

Quercus durifolia: A tree at Chevithorne Barton, seen in June 2023, also seems to be a hybrid with Q. eduardi. Image Maricela Rodríguez.

Hybridised Quercus durifolia, probably with Q. eduardi, at Chevithorne Barton; 9 October 2016. Image Jan Awouters.

Foliage of the tree of Quercus durifolia at Chevithorne Barton, UK, in August 2011. It is likely a hybrid with Quercus eduardi. Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

Foliage of Quercus durifolia at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in July 2009. It was introduced by Sir Harold Hillier from Mexico and is a hybrid, probably with Quercus eduardi. Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

Foliage on Quercus durifolia HILL 586 hybrid, the leaves have a thinner structure and a less dense indumentum compared to genuine Q. durifolia. This is taken from the tree at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (22 July 2009). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Long petioles and lamina lower surface on Quercus durifolia HILL 586 hybrid, with a thinner indumentum (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens 22 July 2009). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.