Quercus toumeyi
Gard. & Forest 8: 92. 1895.
Shrubs or small trees, deciduous or subevergreen. Bark dark gray to almost black, scaly. Twigs brownish, 1-2 mm, usually persistently pubescent. Buds reddish brown, ovoid, ca. 1 mm. Leaves: petiole 2-3.5 mm. Leaf blade oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, 15-25(-30) × (6-)8-12(-15) mm, base obtuse or cuneate, rarely subcordate, margins strongly cartilaginous, entire, sometimes sparsely mucronate-dentate toward apex, secondary veins 7-8 on each side, apex acute, sometimes rounded; surfaces abaxially dull gray, microscopically pubescent with long, soft, white or yellow hairs concentrated in tufts along midvein and base, adaxially glossy green, sparsely minutely stellate-pubescent or glabrate. Acorns solitary or paired, subsessile or on peduncle 2 mm; cup cup-shaped, 6 mm deep × ca. 8-9 mm wide, enclosing ca. 1/3 nut, scales moderately tuberculate; nut light brown, narrowly ovoid or elliptic, 8-15 × 6-8 mm. Cotyledons distinct.
Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: Rocky slopes, oak woodlands, and open chaparral
Elevation: 1500-1800 m
Distribution
Ariz., N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora).
Discussion
Quercus toumeyi, particularly the more spinescent-leaved form, is often confused with Q. turbinella. The latter species has acorns on peduncles greater than 10 mm, and more or less evenly distributed minute, flat, stellate trichomes on the abaxial leaf surface, in contrast to the subsessile acorns and longer straight hairs along the midvein of the abaxial leaf surface in Q. toumeyi.
Selected References
None.