Quercus virginiana Mill.

SE U.S.A.; 0-200 m; introduced in Europe in 1739;

10-18 m tall; trunk to 1 m in diameter; crown spreading, wider than high; branches horizontal from low on the trunk; sometimes rhizomatous shrub;

2.5-10 x 1.8-5 cm; semi-evergreen; lanceolate to oboval; leathery; apex rounded, sometimes acute; base cuneate; margin entire, rarely toothed, often rolled under; young leaves are sometimes toothed and shallowly lobed; dark shiny green above; densely pubescent beneath; petiole pubescent 0.2-1.3 cm long;

March to May; male carkins drooping, 5-8 cm long;

acorn 1.5-2.5 cm long, barrel-shaped, narrow, blackish, mucronate at apex; 3 to 5 together; stalk 1-2 cm long; enclosed 1/3 by cup; cup with greyish, slightly tomentose scales; maturing in 1 year; cotyledons connate;

hardy; prefers lime-free, dry, loamy soils, even salted; long-lived;

– A. Camus : n° 170 ; – Sub-genus Quercus, Section Virentes; – Hybridizes with Q.bicolor (= x nessiana ), Q.durandii, Q.lyrata (= x comptoniae ), Q.stellata, Q. macrocarpa (= x burnetensis ) ; – The other species of the Virentes sectioin are : Q.minima , Q.geminata, Q. brandegeei, Q. oleoides, Q. cubana and Q.fusiformis ;