''Quercus chihuahuensis'', the Chihuahua oak, is a species of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

in the

beech family The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergr ...

.Trelease, Memoirs of the National Academy of Science vol 20. 1924. It is native to the region from extreme western

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

west to

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, Mexico, and south to

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

. It grows mostly at mid elevations, from above sea level, in forests mixed with various pines and other oaks. It is one of the dominant species of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

in Chihuahua and Sonora. The tree grows up to 10 m (33 ft) tall, very common in much of its range. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are entire to toothed or sublobate, green on the top but yellow or gray on the underside because of a coating of velvety, stellate (star-shaped, highly branched) hairs. The species is related to ''

Quercus arizonica ''Quercus arizonica'', the Arizona white oak, is a North American tree species in the Fagaceae, beech family. It is found in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, and Durango. Description ...

'' and ''

Quercus grisea ''Quercus grisea'', commonly known as the gray oak, shin oak or scrub oak, is a North American species deciduous or evergreen shrub or medium-sized tree in the white oak group. It is native to the mountains of the southwestern United States and ...

'', sometimes hybridizing with these two species in Texas.Nixon, K. C. 1993b. The genus ''Quercus'' in Mexico. In: T. P. Ramamoorthy et al., eds. 1993. Biological Diversity of Mexico: Origin and Distribution. New York. Pp. 447-458.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15339331 chihuahuensis Trees of the South-Central United States Trees of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Sonora Flora of Texas Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental Plants described in 1924