''Quercus macrolepis'', the Valonia oak, is a species of oak in the beech family,
Fagaceae. Formerly, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of the closely related and
sympatric mount Tabor oak. At present, however, it is mostly granted species-status.
Geographical range
It is found in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, and in the southern and eastern
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
, including
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, the
Greek Islands
Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227.
The largest Greek island by a ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
.
Systematics
Within the oak genus, Quercus macrolepis is classified in the
subgenus ''Cerris'',
section ''Cerris'', which includes the
turkey oak Turkey oak is a common name for several species of oaks and may refer to:
*''Quercus cerris'', native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor
*''Quercus laevis
''Quercus laevis'', the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is n ...
and related species. It is most closely related to Mount Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis) and
Brant's oak (Quercus brantii).
Uses
The cups, known as valonia, are used for
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
and dyeing as are the unripe acorns called camata or camatina. The ripe acorns are eaten raw or boiled.
Qercus aegilops on food.oregonstate.edu
See also
* Valoneic acid
Valoneic acid is a hydrolysable tannin. It is a component of some hydrolysable tannins such as mallojaponin.
The difference with its isomer sanguisorbic acid is that the hydroxyl that links the hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP) group to the galloyl ...
* ''Quercus ithaburensis
''Quercus ithaburensis'', the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family.
It is found in Southeastern Europe, from southeastern Italy, southern Albania and Greece, and in southwestern Asia from Turkey south through Lebanon, Israel, Syria, ...
''
References
macrolepis
Trees of Europe
Trees of Morocco
Flora of Albania
Flora of Israel
Flora of Palestine (region)
Trees of Mediterranean climate
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