Quercus variabilis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Chinese cork oak

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Cerris
Section:
Quercus sect. Cerris
Species:
Q. variabilis
Binomial name
Quercus variabilis
Synonyms[2]
  • Pasania variabilis (Blume) Regel
  • Quercus bungeana F.B.Forbes
  • Quercus chinensis Bunge
  • Quercus moulei Hance

Quercus variabilis, the Chinese cork oak, is a species of

Quercus sect. Cerris, native to a wide area of eastern Asia in southern, central, and eastern China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.[3]

Description

Quercus variabilis is a medium-sized to large

acuminate, variable in size, 8–20 centimetres (3+1⁄4–7+3⁄4 inches) long and 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) broad, with a serrated margin with each vein ending in a distinctive fine hair-like tooth; they are green above and silvery below with dense short pubescence.[3]

The

globose acorn, 1.5–2 cm (5⁄8–3⁄4 in) diameter, two-thirds enclosed in the acorn cup, which is densely covered in soft 4–8 millimetres (3⁄16–5⁄16 in) long 'mossy' bristles.[3][4]

  • Foliage and flowers
    Foliage and flowers
  • Trunk and bark of Chinese cork oak
    Trunk and bark of Chinese cork oak
  • Chinese cork oak planted at Meise, Belgium
    Chinese cork oak planted at Meise, Belgium

Distribution and habitat

The species can be found in evergreen and deciduous forests below 3,000 m (9,800 ft), in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang, as well as in Japan and Korea.[3]

Uses

It is cultivated in China to a small extent for

ornamental tree. For pharmaceutical grade production of Ganoderma lucidum, known in China as ‘the mushroom of immortality,’ the dead wood logs of Q. variabilis are used.[5]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T194243A2305772.en
    . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Quercus variabilis Blume". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. ^ a b c d Huang, Chengjiu; Zhang, Yongtian; Bartholomew, Bruce. "Quercus variabilis". Flora of China. Vol. 4 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.274
    .
  5. PMID 22735441
    .

External links

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