Quercus Langtry Group

This material was described by Torrey (1859) as Quercus coccinea var. microcarpa from two collections deposited in the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. These were collected in SW Texas ‘from rocky ravines near the mouth of the Pecos, and on the Limpio’ as part of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey (1848–1855) that aimed to define the Mexico/US border. Both specimens have the same collectors on the label: C.C. Parry, J.M. Bigelow, C. Wright and A. Schott. However, this may only be because these were the main collectors on the expedition. The lectotype (NY248625) is regarded as a Parry collection in the original publication, with his number 1375 written in hand on the labels. The syntype (NY248624) is regarded as a Bigelow collection in the original publication as handwritten on the label, but NY lists Schott as the collector. The survey was carried out under the direction of American soldier, surveyor and botanist William Hemsley Emory (1811–1887).

There seems to have been confusion over the correct identity of these specimens from the beginning. Torrey (1859) gave the name as Quercus coccinea var.? microcarpa, perhaps indicating that he was not sure that it belonged to Q. coccinea. The herbarium specimen NY248624 is annotated “=Q. rubra var. texana Buckley” and “Can this be Q. kelloggii Newberry. With very small acorns”. A duplicate of Parry 1375 at US National Herbarium was annotated by Muller in 1949 as Q. gravesii.

The debate continues, with three different theories summarised by Lamant (2022): first, that this material could be a hybrid of Q. canbyi (which only occurs south of the border in Mexico) and Q. gravesii; second, that it is a relative of Q. graciliformis; and lastly that perhaps it should be regarded as a species in its own right. Molecular work is being carried out on these plants, and early results indicate that the Langtry plants are not closely related to any of the species of red oak that occur in the area. The only other oak there that grows on limestone is Q. buckleyi, but the Langtry plants are not closely related to that (A. Black, pers. comm. 2025).

As the status of these plants is undecided, we propose the name Quercus Langtry Group for those in cultivation.

It was first introduced to cultivation by Texas nurseryman Pat MacNeal in 1991 from trees growing on limestone between 300 and 450 m asl near Langtry in southern Texas, and it was cultivated at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centre, Dallas, from where material has been distributed.

Plants are grown at Arboretum des Pouyouleix and Arboretum de la Bergerette in France, Iturraran Botanical Garden in Spain, Thenford Arboretum and Buckingham Palace in the UK, Starhill Forest Arboretum (with winter protection) and Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory and Arboretum in the USA. It is regarded as one of the ‘champion trees’ at Silwood Park, UK (Cameron 2024). It seems to grow very well in the challenging climate of Arboretum de la Bergerette, France, and Shaun Haddock (2012) mentioned it in his note on the oaks there as ‘the mysterious “Langtry Oak”’ which in his view showed an obvious affinity with Q. canbyi.

Further plants have likely been distributed as grafts or seedlings. Being of garden origin, the latter may have produced hybrids with other oaks.