Quercus nivea King

Borneo ; Malaysia ; to 1000 m;

more than 20 m tall; trunk to 0,4 m in diameter;

8-17 x 2.5-7 cm; leathery, thick; elliptic to oblong; apex acute, acuminate or caudate; base rounded or obtuse, sometimes asymmetrical; margin entire, revolute; shiny, hairless above; pale, glaucous beneath from waxy coat and small stellate hairs; 6-12 pairs of secondary veins parallel, flat both sides, forming an angle of 60-70° with the midrib which is prominent below; petiole slender, deeply furrowed above, stellate tomentose, glabrescent, 2-4 cm long;

in January-February; male catkins 5-20 cm long, densely stellate tomentose; male flowers solitary or to 3 together, perianth 4-6-lobed, 4-6 stamens; female inflorescences pubescent; pistillate flowers with tomentose perianth, 3-4 styles, ovary subglobose, staminodes often present;

acorn obovoid to subglobose, 2 cm in diameter, hairless, apex depressed, base convex; enclosed 1/2 by cup; cup half-round, 1.5 cm in diameter, tapering towards the base, glabrescent, with 4-7 concentric undulate rings; ripe between June and July;

– A. Camus : tome 1, p.313, n° 59; – Sub-genus Cerris, Section Cyclobalanopsis; – Section Oidocarpa, sub-section Niveae ( Menitsky ). – Rare species. Threatened (IUCN Red List Category : EN). – Closely related to Q.argentata ;