Quercus franchetii
Species of oak tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quercus franchetii, commonly known as the zhui lian li evergreen oak,[citation needed] is a species of oak in the Ilex section of the genus,[3] native to a wide area of eastern Asia. It is an oak native to south-central China (Sichuan and Yunnan), Myanmar, and northern Thailand,[2] growing at elevations between 800 and 2,600 metres (2,600 and 8,500 feet).[4]
| Zhui lian li evergreen oak | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Cerris |
| Section: | Quercus sect. Ilex |
| Species: | Q. franchetii |
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus franchetii | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Description
In nature, it forms an evergreen tree up to 15 metres (49 feet) high.[4] Sometimes it is shrubby. When older, it has irregular and tortuous branches. The branches are covered with a creamy white, long lasting tomentum. The buds are small, globular with pointed apex, reddish and white ciliated edge.[4]
The leathery oval leaves measure 5 to 12 centimetres (2 to 4+1⁄2 inches) long by 2.5 to 6 cm (1 to 2+1⁄4 in) wide, and are evergreen (remaining on the plant over winter). They have a cuneate (wedge-shaped) or slightly rounded base, and the upper surface is smooth and shiny, while the underside is densely covered with yellowish fur.[4] The leaf margin is dentate, with 5 to 10 pairs of short teeth, though not near the base, and the leaf sits on a 1–2-cm long furry gray-yellow petiole. The fruit is an acorn which measures 0.9–1.1 cm in length by 0.8 cm across; ovoid, apex depressed but mucronate; silky; short peduncle (1.5–3 cm); enclosed two-thirds by cup; cup 0.8–1.1 cm in diameter, scaly; maturing in 1 or 2 years.[4]
Taxonomy
This species was described in 1899 and dedicated to Adrien René Franchet, a botanist at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. Franchet had a few months earlier named and described this species as Q. lanuginosa,[5] but his name turned out to have been used before, so Skan renamed it as Q. franchetii.[6] It is in subgenus Cerris, section Ilex,[7] resembling Q. lanata.
