Quercus coccifera
| Kermes oak | |
|---|---|
| File:Quercus coccifera coccifera, Bot.jpg | |
| 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. Ilex |
| Species: | Q. coccifera
|
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus coccifera | |
| File:Quercus coccifera range.svg | |
| Distribution map | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak or commonly known as Palestine oak,[3] is an oak shrub or tree in section Ilex of the genus.[4] It has many synonyms, including Quercus calliprinos.[2] It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus and Turkey, crossing Spain, Italy, Libya, the Balkans, and Greece, including Crete. The Kermes oak was historically important as the food plant of Kermes scale insects, from which a red dye called crimson was obtained.[5] The etymology of the specific name coccifera is related to the production of red cochineal (crimson) dye and derived from Latin coccum which was from Greek κόκκος, the kermes insect. The Latin -fera means 'bearer'.[6]
Description
[edit | edit source]Quercus coccifera is usually a shrub less than 2 metres (6+1⁄2 feet) high, rarely a small tree, reaching 1–6 metres (3+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 ft) tall (with 10 m or 33 ft specimens recorded in Kouf, Libya).[7]
Gallery
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Trunk -
Leaves on branch -
Leaves -
Close-up of leaves -
Acorns -
Kermes oak in Kythera
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Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]Quercus coccifera
[edit | edit source]Quercus coccifera was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[2] It is called "chêne des garrigues" (garrigue oak) in French. The term "garrigue" comes from Catalan or Occitan "garric" (meaning "twisted") the name for Q. coccifera in those languages. A common Spanish name of Q. coccifera is chaparro, which refers to its small size, a feature it shares with other oak species in similar habitats in other parts of the world, such as the chaparral communities from various parts of the Americas. The word chaparro comes from the Basque txapar meaning "little thicket".[8] Quercus coccifera is placed in section Ilex.[9]
Quercus calliprinos
[edit | edit source]As of February 2023[update], Plants of the World Online regards it as a synonym of Quercus coccifera,[2] but this is widely disputed, with many authors, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, considering it distinct at least at subspecies rank, if not as a species.[3]
Conservation
[edit | edit source]It is included as an endangered species in the Red Book of Bulgaria.[10]
See also
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References
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