Quercus coccifera L.

Mediterranean Region;

0.5 to 3-5 m; crown dense, rounded;

1-3.5 x 0.7-2 cm; evergreen; oblong; base cordate to rounded; thickly leathery; margin cartilaginous, wavy, sharp-toothed (5-8 pairs of teeth); both surfaces green, but paler and sometimes slightly bloomy beneath; 5-8 vein pairs prominent beneath, diverging from midrib at more than 40°; petiole hairless, 2-6 mm long;

male flowers in early summer, on 3-5 cm glabrous catkins;

acorn ovoid, 2 cm long, 1.5 wide; enclosed 1/2 to 2/3 by cup; cup with spiny, stiff, spreading or recurved scales; maturing in 2 years;

– a little tender (zone 7-8), but withstands -15°C; – very slow growing, but long-lived; thrives in any rocky soil, but prefers calcareous ones; – does not appreciate seaside;

– A. Camus : n° 107; – Sub-genus Cerris, Section Ilex; – In Flora Europaea, and for many other Authors, Q.coccifera and Q.calliprinos are synonyms;