Quercus euboica Papaioannou

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Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2021)

Recommended citation
Coombes, A. & Cameron, R. (2021), 'Quercus euboica' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-euboica/). Accessed 2024-10-11.

Genus

  • Quercus
  • Subgen. Cerris, Sect. Cerris

Synonyms

  • Quercus trojana subsp. euboica (Papaioannou) K.I. Chr.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

IUCN
World Conservation Union (formerly the International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
Vulnerable
IUCN Red List conservation category: ‘facing a high risk of extinction in the wild’.
article
(in Casuarinaceae) Portion of branchlet between each whorl of leaves.
subspecies
(subsp.) Taxonomic rank for a group of organisms showing the principal characters of a species but with significant definable morphological differentiation. A subspecies occurs in populations that can occupy a distinct geographical range or habitat.

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2021)

Recommended citation
Coombes, A. & Cameron, R. (2021), 'Quercus euboica' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-euboica/). Accessed 2024-10-11.

Shrub or small tree reaching up to 4 m tall. Shoots glabrous or sparsely hairy when mature. Leaves deciduous, leathery, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, up to 7 × 3 cm, sometimes more. Margin undulate, with up to 13 sharp teeth on each side. Green and glabrous above when mature, densely covered with silvery white hairs beneath, the midrib and lateral veins conspicuous. Petiole about 5 mm. Cup hemispherical, about 3 × 2 cm, acorns up to 2 cm long, mostly enclosed in the cup and ripening the second year. (Mucina & Dimopoulos 2000; Trigas & Zigiris 2009).

Distribution  Greece Euboea (Evia)

Habitat Dry Pinus halepensis woodland on rocky soils from near sea level to 600 m, with Cotinus coggygria, Pistacia terebinthus, and Erica manipuliflora.

USDA Hardiness Zone 7

RHS Hardiness Rating H6

Conservation status Not evaluated (NE)

Taxonomic note Although recently treated as a subspecies of Q. trojana, Simeone et al. (2018) found that Quercus euboica appears genetically isolated from the former and recommended it be treated as a species. It differs from Q. trojana in its shrubby habit and leathery leaves white tomentose beneath.

This interesting species, only described in 1949, has a very resticted distribution and is rare in cultivation where it has proved to be very slow growing. Two plants are growing at the Botanical Garden of the Agricultural University of Athens (M. Papafotiou pers. comm. 2020). It was introduced to Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in 2006 when seed was sent from Euboea. It has reached 2.1 m tall at Thenford, England (D. Webster pers. comm. 2020) and two plants less than 1 m tall are at Arboretum des Pouyouleix, France (Béatrice Chassé pers. comm. 2020), with another small plant at Chevithorne Barton, England.

Kartsonas & Papafotiou (2009) developed a micropropagation technique for this species and recommended it as an ornamental plant and for reforestation due to its drought tolerance and ability to resprout after fire and grazing.

Though as yet Not Evaluated according to IUCN, Trigas and Zigras (2009) suggest it should be regarded as VU (Vulnerable). The images shown here are taken from their article in the Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece.

The specific epithet derives from its occurrence on the island of Euboea (Evia or Evvia), Greece.