Quercus trojana

Quercus trojana, the Macedonian oak, is a species of plant in the oak and beech family (Fagaceae). It is native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, and is placed in the turkey oak section (Quercus sect. Cerris).

Description

Quercus trojana is a small to medium-sized tree reaching Template:Convert tall. It is late deciduous to semi-evergreen, with glossy green to grey-green leaves Template:Convert long and 1.5–4 cm broad, coarsely serrated at the margins and with sharply pointed teeth. The acorns are 2–4 cm long when mature (about 18 months after pollination) with a scaly acorn cup.<ref>Webb, Philip Barker 1839.</ref><ref name="TSO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Quercus trojana (20).JPG

  Shoot with leaves and buds

• Quercus trojana leaf.JPG

  Shoot with leaves

• Quercus trojana6.jpg

  Ripe Acorn

• Quercus trojana (8).JPG

  Bark

Taxonomy

Quercus trojana was first described by P.B. Webb from the Troad, in 1839. Three well-differentiated subspecies are known, two of which are highly endemic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Quercus trojana subsp. trojana.
• Quercus trojana subsp. euboica (Papaioannou) K.I.Chr: Native to Euboea. Possibly a distinct species, in this case Quercus euboica.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Quercus trojana subsp. yaltirikii Ziel., Petrova & D.Tomasz: Endemic to southern Anatolia.<ref name=":0" />

It is closely related to Quercus libani and, less closely, to other Cerris oaks, such as Quercus cerris, Quercus castaneifolia and Quercus ithaburensis.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Distribution and habitat

The species is distributed from southern Italy east across the southern Balkans (Croatia, Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and Greece) to western Turkey.<ref>Christensen, Knud Ib. 1997. Flora Hellenica 1: 45</ref><ref>Altervista Flora Italiana, Quercus trojana Webb</ref> Its range is disjunct, with its two main centres in the western Balkans and northwest Anatolia. It grows at low to moderate altitudes (up to Template:Convert in the south of the range in southwestern Turkey), and prefers warm, dry localities.<ref name="TSO" /><ref name=":0">Jerzy Zieliński, Ana Petrova and Dominik Tomaszewski 2006. Quercus trojana subsp. yaltirikii (Fagaceae), a New Subspecies from Southern Turkey. Willdenowia 36:845-849 </ref>

Fossil record

Fossils of Quercus trojana have been described from the fossil flora of Kızılcahamam district in Turkey, which is of early Pliocene age.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Cultivation

It is grown as an ornamental tree in Britain, Belgium, Spain, and elsewhere, and has proved very tolerant of both drought and winter cold.<ref name="TSO"/> A semi-fastigiate cultivar 'Iturraran Trinkoa' has been selected at the Iturraran Botanical Garden in the Basque region of Spain.<ref name="TSO"/>

External links

• Quercus trojana - information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)