Quercus pumila Walter

Suckering shrub to 1 m tall or sometimes a little more, forming large thickets spreading by rhizomes and regenerating from the base after fires. Bark grey to dark brown. Young shoots tomentose. Leaves deciduous or some semi-evergreen, oblong to narrowly obovate, up to 10 cm long and 3 cm across, glossy dark green and glabrous above or hairy along the midrib, greyish tomentose beneath, apex ending in a bristle tip, pointed or rounded, base rounded or tapered, margin entire, revolute. Petiole pubescent, to 5 mm long. Fruits annual, cupule bowl-shaped, to 12 × 15 mm, acorns spherical to oblong, to 15 mm long and 12 mm across, 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 enclosed in the cup. (Jensen 1997; Wilbur 2002; Ward 2008).

Distribution  United States Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina

Habitat Dry sandy soils of savannahs, low ridges and oak-pine scrub, occasionally at margins of poorly drained sites; 0–100 m.

USDA Hardiness Zone 8

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note Wilbur (2002) attempted to replace the well-known name Quercus pumila with Q. elliottii, arguing that Walter’s description was not adequate to confirm the identity of the species he was referring to. Ward (2008), however, disputed this and designated a new type, stating that Walter would have known this plant well and was in no doubt that this is what he was referring to when he described Q. pumila.