Quercus epileuca Trel.

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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 epileuca' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-epileuca/). Accessed 2026-07-19.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Quercus
Subgen. Quercus, Sect. Lobatae

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

glaucous: Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
herbarium: A collection of preserved plant specimens; also the building in which such specimens are housed.
revolute: Rolled downwards at margin.
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.
tomentum: Dense layer of soft hairs. tomentose With tomentum.

References

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2026)

Recommended citation
Coombes, A. & Cameron, R. (2026), 'Quercus epileuca' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-epileuca/). Accessed 2026-07-19.

An acorn of Q. epileuca in Chihuahua in 2008. Image Francisco Garin.

A large, slender tree to 30 m tall. Young shoots ridged, green or red, scurfy-pubescent becoming glabrous. Bud glossy red-brown, ovoid, up to 3 × 4 mm. Leaves late-deciduous, evergreen in cultivation, elliptic to oblanceolate, to 12 × 5 cm, pointed or tapered towards the apex, rounded at the base. They are dark green above with a scattered tomentum of stellate hairs, yellowish grey beneath with a short, woolly tomentum. The margin is slightly revolute and bears a few aristate teeth towards the apex of the leaf. Petiole tomentose to 2 cm long. Cupule hemispherical, with closely appressed, downy scales. Acorn ovoid, about 1.5 cm long (F. Garin, pers. comm. 2025) ⅓ to ½ included in the cupule, maturation annual. (Trelease 1924; Gentry 1942).

Distribution Mexico Chihuahua, Sonora

Habitat Oak forest, pine forest at 1060–2150 m

USDA Hardiness Zone 8

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Not evaluated (NE)

Taxonomic note This species has previously been considered a synonym of Quercus scytophylla, e.g. by Valencia-A. (2004) and McVaugh (1974), but it differs in its thicker and narrower, revolute leaves with a yellowish-white tomentum beneath (McVaugh 1974).

Quercus epileuca was introduced to cultivation by Francisco Garin and Michel Duhart who collected it as Q. scytophylla in the Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico in 2008. It is represented at the Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain where it has reached about 12 m tall (F. Garin, pers. comm. 2025), and Arboretum Chocha, France. Q. scytophylla does not occur in Chihuahua.

The epithet derives from the ancient Greek ἐπί (epi) meaning ‘upon’ and Λεῦκος (Leukos) meaning ‘white’. Trelease, who described it in 1924 from specimens collected in Sonora, Mexico, referred to the leaves being ‘very lightly white-glaucous above, becoming glossy olive-green when abraded.’ This has not been seen on fresh material and is perhaps only evident on herbarium specimens.

A tree of Q. epileuca at Arboretum Chocha, France in May 2023. Image Béatrice Chassé.

A tree of Q. epileuca at the Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain. in December 2025. Image Francisco Garin.

Bark of Q. epileuca at the Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in December 2025. Image Francisco Garin.

Trunk of Q. epileuca at the Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in December 2025, showing the branching patters. Image Francisco Garin.

Foliage of Q. epileuca at Arboretum Chocha, France in May 2023 showing the leaf underside. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Ripening acorns on Q. epileuca at Arboretum Chocha, France in May 20233. Image Béatrice Chassé.

Foliage of Q. epileuca at the Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in October 2021. Image Francisco Garin.

Young foliage of Q. epileuca at the Iturarran Botanical Garden, Spain in May 2019. Image Francisco Garin.

Leaves of Quercus epileuca at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, in July 2015, showing the variation in size. Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

Quercus epileuca at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, in July 2015, showing young leaves of the second growth emerging. Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

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