Quercus jonesii - Trees and Shrubs Online

Glossary

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.

type specimen

A herbarium specimen cited in a taxonomic account to define a particular species or other taxon.

A young Quercus coccolibifolia at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in July 2021. Image Francisco Garin.

Tree to 10 m tall and 70 cm dbh, bark dark, cracked into squares. Young shoots purplish or reddish brown, pubescent at first becoming glabrous. Leaves evergreen, rigid and leathery, flat or convex, often clustered towards the ends of the shoots, to 19 × 14 cm, broadly ovate to nearly rounded or expanded towards the end, apex broadly rounded, base heart shaped with rounded auricles. Margin undulate, entire or toothed towards the apex. Leaf size very variable, with plants in the north of the range bearing leaves 6 cm or less across. They are covered in red or amber hairs when young, becoming somewhat glossy green and thinly stellate-hairy above, paler beneath and nearly glabrous except for tufts of hairs in the vein axils. Petiole stout, to 13 mm long. Fruits borne singly or in clusters of up to 6, sessile in the leaf axils. Cupules hemispherical, about 10 mm across, acorns ovoid, 8 mm long, ½ included in the cup and ripening the first year. (Martínez 1966; McVaugh 1974).

Distribution Mexico Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Zacatecas

USDA Hardiness Zone 8

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note The names Quercus coccolobifolia and Q. jonesii were published by Trelease at the same time, which has led to confusion as to which is correct if they are regarded as synonyms. While some believe that the order they appear in the publication is important, synonymy in this case is determined by who first listed one as a synonym of the other. McVaugh (1974) regarded Q. jonesii as a synonym of Q. coccolobifolia, however Q. jonesii had already been listed as the correct name by Martínez (1966), who regarded Q. coccolobifolia as a synonym, and hence Q. jonesii is the correct name (Cameron 2024).

Neither Bonpland, who annotated a specimen with this name, nor Trelease who published it, suggested a derivation of the name Quercus coccolobifolia, but it is presumably because of the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of Coccoloba uvifera.

Quercus jonesii was named after the American geologist and botanist Marcus E. Jones, who collected the type specimen in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1892.

It is unfortunate that this handsome species is not more common in gardens. It was introduced by Francisco Garin from Jalisco, Mexico in 2009. There are two plants at Iturraran Botanic garden, Spain, the tallest about 4 m in 2021 (F. Garin pers.comm.). Introductions to other collections have so far failed.

The young leaves of Quercus coccolobifolia are felted with reddish hairs on both sides. Iturraran Botanical Garden, April 2021. Image Francisco Garin.

The very dark green leaves or Quercus coccolobifolia are often slightly cupped. Iturraran Botanical Garden, August 2019. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus coccolobifolia: The mature leaves are glabrous beneath except for small tufts of hairs in the vein axils. Iturraran Botanical Garden, July 2021. Image Francisco Garin.

Quercus jonesii leaves are rigid and leathery, often clustered towards the ends of the shoots; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 27 September 2024. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii leaves are paler beneath with prominent venation and nearly glabrous except for tufts of hairs in the vein axils; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 27 September 2024. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii acorns are borne in clusters in the leaf axils; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 27 September 2024. Image Roderick Cameron.

Mature acorns on Quercus jonesii; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 30 September 2025. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 30 September 2025. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii at Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 27 September 2024. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii; Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 30 September 2025. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus jonesii at Presa del Peralillo, Guanajuato, Mexico, 27 September 2024. Image Roderick Cameron.

Leaf arrangement on Quercus jonesii, the lamina lower surface spongy coloured at first (Botanic Treasures, Belgium – 24 August 2025). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Leaf selection on Quercus jonesii, with the lamina ovate to obovate, undulate at margin and on a short petiole (Botanic Treasures, Belgium – 24 August 2025). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Quercus jonesii, with the lamina base auriculate and the upper surface stellate pubescent at first (Botanic Treasures, Belgium – 24 August 2025). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Undulate, shallowly dentate apical part of the lamina margin on Quercus jonesii (Botanic Treasures, Belgium – 24 August 2025). Image © Jan De Langhe.

Quercus jonesii Trel.

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