Virginia oak

Virginia oak
	Virginia oak ( Quercus virginiana )
Systematics
	Rosids
	Eurosiden I
Order :	Beech-like (Fagales)
Family :	Beech family (Fagaceae)
Genre :	Oak trees ( Quercus )
Type :	Virginia oak
Scientific name
	Quercus virginiana
	Mill.

The Quercus virginiana ( Quercus virginiana ), even life-oak called, is a plant of the genus of oak ( Quercus ) in the family of the beech plants (Fagaceae).

description

Leathery, simple leaves and acorns.

Appearance, bark and leaves

The Virginia oak is a more or less evergreen tree or sometimes a shrub that reaches a stature height of up to 35 meters and a trunk diameter of over 1 meter. Shrubs sometimes form rhizomes . The treetop sits very broadly on a short trunk. The dark brown to almost black bark is scaly and cracked. The yellowish to light gray bark of the twigs has tiny downy hairs in the first year and bare from the second year.

The alternate and spirally arranged leaves on the branches are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The simple, leathery leaf blade is elliptical to obovate with a smooth edge and the tip is rounded. The underside of the leaf is often hairy. With a length of 1 to 2 mm, the almost spherical to egg-shaped, reddish or dark brown buds have bud scales that are bald or hairy on the edge.

The alternate and spirally arranged leaves on the branches are divided into a 1 to 10 (up to 20) mm long petiole and a leaf blade. The simple, more or less flat, with a length of usually 3.5 to 9 (8 to 15) cm and a width of 2 to 4 (1.5 to 8.5) cm obovate to obovate, sometimes lanceolate circular or lanceolate-egg-shaped leaf blades with wedge-shaped to rounded, rarely trimmed or heart-shaped blade base has a smooth or unevenly one to three-toothed leaf margin on each side spiky. There are six to nine, rarely up to twelve, indistinct lateral nerves on each side of the main nerve. The underside of the leaf is whitish to frosted because it is densely covered with star hairs; in the shade it is light green and bare. The dark to light green upper side of the leaf is shiny, glabrous or has occasional tiny star hairs.

Underside of leaf and inflorescences.

Generative characteristics

The flowering time is from the end of winter to early spring. The Virginia oak is single-sexed ( monoecious ).

One to three fruits are on a (rarely 3 to) 10 to 20 mm long stem. With a height of 8 to 15 mm and a diameter of 8 to 15 mm, the spherical to deep cup-shaped fruit cup (cupula) has whitish to greyish, woolly hairy, keeled scales that are thickened at their base and have a reddish tip. The fruit cup covers the lower third of the acorn. With a length of 1.5 to 2, rarely up to 2.5 cm and a diameter of 0.8 to 1.5 cm, the dark brown, bald acorn ( nut fruit ) is almost barrel-shaped to ovoid or inverted-cylindrical with a rounded or blunt end. The acorns ripen in one season and are not bitter. The two cotyledons ( cotyledons ) are fused together.

distribution

The Virginia oak is native to southeastern North America all the way down to Mexico .

Tillandsia usneoides hangs down from a Virginia oak ( Quercus virginiana ) .

Systematics

The species name Quercus virginiana was in 1768 by the English botanist Philip Miller in The Gardeners Dictionary , 8th Edition: Quercus no 16th first published . A synonym for Quercus virginiana Mill. Is Quercus virginiana var. Eximea Sargent . Quercus virginiana belongs to the Quercus section in the genus Quercus .

Others

The life oak is the landmark of the state of Georgia . In addition, it was one of the most popular types of wood in shipbuilding because of its resistance to water and its particularly dense and solid structure. So were z. In the case of the USS Constitution , for example, the most important timbers of the hull are made from this wood.

swell

Kevin C. Nixon: Quercus in the Flora of North America , Volume 3, 1997: Quercus virginiana - Online. (Section description, distribution and systematics)

Web links

Commons : Virginia Oak ( Quercus virginiana ) - Collection of images, videos, and audio files