Emory oak

''Quercus emoryi'', the Emory oak, is a species of oak common in Arizona (including inside Saguaro National Park), New Mexico and western Texas (including inside Big Bend National Park), United States, and northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila (including Parque Nacional Maderas del Carmen), Durango, Nuevo León, and San Luis Potosí). It typically grows in dry hills at moderate altitudes.

Description

''Quercus emoryi'' is a wintergreen tree in the red oak group, retaining its leaves throughout the winter until new leaves are produced in spring. It is a large shrub or small tree from tall. The leaves are long, simple or wavy-toothed, leathery, dark green above, paler below. The acorns are long, blackish-brown, and mature in 6–8 months from pollination; the kernel is sweet, and is an important food for people and for certain other mammals.

The seeds of this tree are called chich’il in Ndee, wi-yo:thi or toa in O’odham, bellotas in Spanish, and acorns in English. The English and Latin botanical names for this tree come from the name of a United States Army surveyor, Lieutenant William Hemsley Emory, who surveyed the area that had become known as West-Texas in the 1840s.

Ecology

The Emory acorn is sweet and is an important food for livestock, deer, squirrels, the Gila chipmunk, and birds such as quail and wild turkeys. Deer and livestock also browse the foliage.

Uses

Native American groups have eaten Emory acorns traditionally, ceremonially, and in contemporary cuisine. The acorns are most commonly ground into meal.

Emory oak health and habitat have been challenged in 2020, none more so than at Oak Flat, Arizona in the Tonto National Forest. The Resolution Copper mining company is planning to clear-cut the best remaining old-growth Emory oak forest in the state at this location in preparation for a destructive copper mine. Although the area at Oak Flat is protected since President Eisenhower proclaimed that it should never be mined in the 1950s, the Resolution Copper company persuaded Arizona politicians to give this federal land to them to mine copper. The oak grove at Oak Flat can never be replaced. In other areas of the Southwest, Resolution Copper is currently trying to drum up some good PR by spending money on caretaking unrelated oaks to make up for the destruction of the oak forest at Oak Flat.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture:

Emory oak acorns are a critically important resource for Western Apache Tribal Nation, both as a food source and due to its cultural and ceremonial uses. For decades, Apache elders watched in frustration as groves produced less acorn yield and declined in overall health. The ... Emory oak Collaborative Tribal Restoration Initiative is restor ngand protect ngEmory oak stands ... to ensure the long-term persistence of Emory oak. Habitat loss, fire suppression, livestock grazing, groundwater reductions, species competition and climate change have all impacted the Emory oak population. This program uses tribal traditional ecological knowledge to guide goals and activities."Tribal restoration initiative seeks to protect, restore Emory oak", November 2, 2020
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References

External links

United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Quercus emoryi''

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emoryi
Trees of Sonora
Trees of Chihuahua (state)
Trees of Coahuila
Trees of Durango
Trees of Nuevo León
Trees of San Luis Potosí
Trees of the Southwestern United States
Trees of the South-Central United States
Flora of Arizona
Plants described in 1848
Taxa named by John Torrey
Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Oaks of Mexico