Quercus montana
Chestnut oak | |
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InWeiser State Forest | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Fagaceae |
Genus: | Quercus |
Subgenus: | Quercussubg.Quercus |
Section: | Quercussect.Quercus |
Species: | Q. montana
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Binomial name | |
Quercus montana | |
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Natural range | |
Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Quercus montana,thechestnut oak,is a species ofoakin thewhite oak group,Quercussect.Quercus.It is native to theeastern United States,where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southernMainesouthwest to centralMississippi,with an outlying northwestern population in southernMichigan.It is also sometimes calledrock oakbecause of its presence inmontaneand other rocky habitats.
Description
[edit]As a consequence of its dry habitat and ridgetop exposure,Quercus montanais not usually a large tree, typically growing to 18–22 metres (59–72 feet) tall; specimens growing in better conditions can grow up to 40–43 m (131–141 ft) tall. They tend to have a similar spread of 18–22 m (59–72 ft). A 10-year-old sapling grown in full sun will stand about 5 m (16 ft) tall. This species is often an important canopy species in anoak-heath forest.[4][5]
It is readily identified by its massively-ridged dark gray-brownbark,the thickest of any easternNorth Americanoak. Theleavesare12–20 centimetres (4+3⁄4–7+3⁄4inches) long and6–10 cm (2+1⁄4–4 in) broad, shallowly lobed with 10–15 rounded lobes on each margin; they are virtually identical to the leaves ofswamp chestnut oakandchinkapin oak,but the trees can readily be distinguished by the bark, that of the chinkapin oak being a light ash-gray and somewhat peeling like that of thewhite oakand that of swamp chestnut oak being paler ash-gray and scaly. The chinkapin oak also has much smalleracornsthan the chestnut oak. The chestnut oak is easily distinguished from theswamp white oakbecause that tree has whitened undersides on the leaves. Another important distinction between the chestnut oak and the swamp chestnut oak is by the habitat; if it grows on a ridge, it is chestnut oak, and if it grows in wet bottomlands, it is probably the more massive swamp chestnut oak; however, this is not fully reliable.
Characteristics include:[6]
- Bark: Dark, fissured into broad ridges, scaly. Branchlets stout, at first bronze green, later they become reddish brown, finally dark gray or brown. Heavily charged with tannic acid.
- Wood: Dark brown, sapwood lighter; heavy, hard, strong, tough, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil.Specific gravity0.7499; weight of cubic foot, 21.20 kilograms or 46.73 pounds.
- Winter buds: Light chestnut brown, ovate, acute, one-fourth to one-half of an inch long.
- Leaves:Alternate,13 to 23 cm (5 to 9 in) long,8 to 11 cm (3 to4+1⁄2in) wide,obovateto oblong-lanceolate,wedge-shaped or rounded at base, coarselycrenatelytoothed, teeth rounded or acute, apex rounded or acute. They come out of the budconvolute,yellow green or bronze, shining above, very pubescent below. When full grown are thick, firm, dark yellow green, somewhat shining above, pale green and pubescent below; midribs stout, yellow, primary veins conspicuous. In autumn they turn a dull yellow soon changing to a yellow brown.Petiolesstout or slender, short.Stipuleslinear to lanceolate,caducous.
- Flowers: May, when leaves are one-third grown.Staminate flowersare borne in hairycatkins(aments) two to three inches long;calyxpale yellow, hairy, deeply seven to nine-lobed;stamens7 to 9;anthersbright yellow.Pistillate flowersin shortspikes;pedunclesgreen, stout, hairy;involucralscales hairy; stigmas short, bright red.
- Acorns: Annual, singly or in pairs; nut oval, rounded or acute at apex, bright chestnut brown, shining, one and a quarter to one and one-half inches in length; cup, cup-shaped orturbinate,usually enclosing one-half or one-third of the nut, thin, light brown and downy within, reddish brown and rough outside,tuberculatenear the base. Scales small, much crowded toward the rim sometimes making a fringe. Kernel white, sweetish.
The acorns of the chestnut oak are1.5–3 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4in) long and1–2 cm (3⁄8–3⁄4in) broad,[7]among the largest of Native American oaks, surpassed in size only by thebur oakand possibly swamp chestnut oak.[citation needed]
Taxonomy and nomenclature
[edit]Extensive confusion between the chestnut oak (Quercus montana) and the swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) has occurred, and some botanists have considered them to be the same species in the past.
The nameQuercus prinuswas long used by many botanists and foresters for either the chestnut oak or the swamp chestnut oak, with the former otherwise calledQ. montanaor the latter otherwise calledQ. michauxii.The application of the nameQ. montanato the chestnut oak is now accepted, sinceQ. prinusis of uncertain position, unassignable to either species.[7][8][9][10]
The Latinspecific epithetmontanarefers to mountains or coming from mountains which probably refers to the tree's habitat and its ability to grow on rocks.[11]
Ecology
[edit]![]() | This sectionneeds expansion.You can help byadding to it.(October 2011) |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Chestnut_oak_rock.jpg/240px-Chestnut_oak_rock.jpg)
This species is a predominant ridge-top tree in eastern North American hardwood forests. Young chestnut oaks are easily capable of reproducing from stump sprouts if cut. A significant amount of chestnut oaks in the Appalachians are trees that regrew from stump sprouts after being logged. It is a long-lived tree, with high-qualitytimberwhen well-formed. The acorns of the chestnut oak are a valuable wildlife food.[12]
Q. montanatrees mast or produce more acorns under warmer summer temperatures rather than cooler summer temperatures. The results of a "thin and burn treatment" proved that increased light and resources correlated with a greater acorn yield.[13]
Uses
[edit]Chestnut oak trees are generally not the best timber trees because they are usually branched low and not very straight, but when they grow in better conditions, they are valuable for timber, which is marketed as 'mixed white oak'. The bark of chestnut oak has a hightannincontent and prior to the 20th century was heavily used in the leather tanning industry, but the wood was usually discarded since it was considered inferior to that ofQ. alba.By the late 19th century, as the population of mature white oaks in the eastern US was dwindling, loggers began exploiting chestnut oak wood more heavily. It serves many of the same applications as white oak wood and as it is fairly rot-proof, has also been used for fencing, railroad ties, and other uses where the wood comes into contact with soil. Due to a relatively high density (21 kg or 47 lb per cu. ft), chestnut oak makes excellent firewood.
The acorns can be eaten by humans but, if bitter, may need to have the tannins leached.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^L., Wenzell, K. & Jerome, D. 2017. Quercus montana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T194201A111265611. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T194201A111265611.en. Downloaded on 05 April 2021.
- ^"Quercus montana".Tropicos.Missouri Botanical Garden.
- ^"Quercus montana".Germplasm Resources Information Network.Agricultural Research Service,United States Department of Agriculture.
- ^The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups(Version 2.3), Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2010ArchivedJanuary 5, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- ^Schafale, M. P. and A. S. Weakley. 1990.Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina: third approximation.North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.
- ^Keeler, Harriet L. (1900).Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them.New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp.338–344.
- ^abNixon, Kevin C. (1997)."Quercus montana".In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.).Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA).Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org,Missouri Botanical Garden,St. Louis, MO &Harvard University Herbaria,Cambridge, MA.
- ^"Quercus prinusL. "Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^"Quercus montanaWilld ".Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^The confusion arose from differing identifications of thetype specimensfor theLinnaean name,by some (but not all) botanists considered resolved by close examination of the leaf pubescence, which differs in the two species.
- ^Archibald William SmithA Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins,p. 239, atGoogle Books
- ^"Quercus montana".www.museum.state.il.us.Retrieved2019-02-01.
- ^Smith, S. J., McCarthy, B. C., Hutchinson, T. F., & Snell, R. S. (2021). Both weather and resources influence masting in chestnut oak (Quercus montana Willd.) and black oak (Q. velutina Lam.). Plant Ecology, 222, 409-420.
- ^Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982].Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods.New York:Sterling.pp. 228, 231.ISBN978-1-4027-6715-9.OCLC244766414.
External links
[edit]Media related toQuercus montana(category) at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toQuercus montanaat Wikispecies