Quercus montana
Chestnut oak | |
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In Weiser State Forest | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Fagaceae |
Genus: | Quercus |
Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
Section: | Quercus sect. Quercus
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Species: | Q. montana
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Binomial name | |
Quercus montana Willd. | |
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Natural range | |
Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Quercus montana, the chestnut oak, is a species of
Description
As a consequence of its dry habitat and ridgetop exposure, Quercus montana is 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 an
It is readily identified by its massively-ridged dark gray-brown
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: caducous.
- Flowers: May, when leaves are one-third grown. 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 or turbinate, 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 are 1.5–3 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4 in) long and 1–2 cm (3⁄8–3⁄4 in) broad,
Taxonomy and nomenclature
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 name Quercus prinus was long used by many botanists and foresters for either the chestnut oak or the swamp chestnut oak, with the former otherwise called Q. montana or the latter otherwise called Q. michauxii. The application of the name Q. montana to the chestnut oak is now accepted, since Q. prinus is of uncertain position, unassignable to either species.[7][8][9][10]
The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains which probably refers to the tree's habitat and its ability to grow on rocks.[11]
Ecology
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2011) |
![](http://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-quality
Q. montana trees 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
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 high tannin content 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 of Q. 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
References
- ^ 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, 2010 Archived January 5, 2011, at the Wayback 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.
- ^ a b Nixon, 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 prinus L." Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ "Quercus montana Willd". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ The confusion arose from differing identifications of the type specimens for the Linnaean name, by some (but not all) botanists considered resolved by close examination of the leaf pubescence, which differs in the two species.
- ^ Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins, p. 239, at Google Books
- ^ "Quercus montana". www.museum.state.il.us. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ 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.
- OCLC 244766414.
External links
Media related to Quercus montana (category) at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Quercus montana at Wikispecies