Quercus sapotifolia Liebm.

Sponsor

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 sapotifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-sapotifolia/). Accessed 2026-06-15.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Quercus
Subgen. Quercus, Sect. Lobatae

Synonyms

Quercus amissiloba Trel.
Quercus apanecana Trel.
Quercus donnell-smithii Trel.
Quercus elliptica Liebm. nom. illeg.
Quercus microcarpa Liebm.
Quercus parviglans Trel.
Quercus perseifolia Liebm.
Quercus siguatepequeana Trel.
Quercus totutlensis A.DC.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

asl: Above sea-level.
hybrid: Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).

References

Valencia-A., S. et al. (2017). Distribution and diversity of Fagaceae in Hidalgo, Mexico.

Credits

Allen Coombes & Roderick Cameron (2026)

Recommended citation
Coombes, A. & Cameron, R. (2026), 'Quercus sapotifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/quercus/quercus-sapotifolia/). Accessed 2026-06-15.

Quercus sapotifolia foliage at Arboretum Chocha, France, in July 2019. Image Francisco Garin.

Tree to 35 m tall, young shoots glabrous or nearly so. Leaves evergreen, leathery, oblanceolate to elliptic, variable in size, to 15 cm or more long and 4 cm or more across. Margin entire, often undulate, apex blunt to rounded with or without an aristate tip, tapered to the base. They are glossy green and glabrous, or almost so, on both sides. Petiole to 6 mm long, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Fruits borne singly or in clusters of up to 3 on a peduncle to 1 cm long. Cupules hemispherical to slightly top-shaped, to 10 mm diam. and 6 mm tall, covered with smooth, closely appressed scales. Nut ovoid, to 12 mm long and 8 mm wide, the basal ¼ to ⅓ enclosed in the cup, ripening the first year. (Valencia-A. et al. 2017).

Distribution Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Chiapas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Veracruz Nicaragua Panama

Habitat Humid oak and oak-pine forest and cloud forest at 100–2300 m asl.

USDA Hardiness Zone 8

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Quercus sapotifolia, from relatively low altitudes in the humid New World tropics, is rare in cultivation. It was introduced to Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain, in 2006 from a collection made at 1200 m asl in Xico, Veracruz, Mexico. From this collection there are two trees at Iturraran and a tree of about 10 m was seen at Arboretum Chocha, France, in 2019 (pers. obs. AJC). One of the trees at Iturraran has toothed leaves and Francisco Garin believes it could be a hybrid with Q. sartorii, which grows with Q. sapotifolia in Veracruz (pers. comm. 2021). For the hybrid with Q. castanea see under that species.

Quercus sapotifolia foliage at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain. Image Francisco Garin.

A possible hybrid between Quercus sapotifolia and Q. sartorii at Iturraran Botanical Garden, Spain in August 2019. Image Francisco Garin.

Long, lanceolate leaves on Quercus sapotifolia, San Ignacio, El Salvador, 26 June 2022. Image Roderick Cameron.

Leaf underside of Quercus sapotifolia with prominent venation, San Ignacio, El Salvador, 26 June 2022. Image Roderick Cameron.

New growth on Quercus sapotifolia, San Ignacio, El Salvador, 26 June 2022. Image Roderick Cameron.

Quercus sapotifolia acorn, San Ignacio, El Salvador, 26 June 2022. Image Roderick Cameron.

Acorns on Quercus sapotifolia are sometimes borne in clusters of up to 3; San Ignacio, El Salvador, 26 June 2022. Image Roderick Cameron.

Foliage of Quercus sapotifolia at Eastwoodhill Arboretum, New Zealand in December 2013- Image © Jan De Langhe - Ghent UBG.

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