''Quercus cortesii'' is a species of oak native to Central America and southern Mexico.

Description

''Quercus cortesii'' is a large evergreen tree, growing up to 40 meters tall. ''Quercus cortesii'' is a slow-growing tree with a very long life-cycle. They are seldom found with

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s, and reproduce on cycles of five to ten years.

Range and habitat

''Quercus cortesii'' ranges through the mountains of Central America and southern Mexico, between 700 and 2400 meters elevation. The southern end of the range is the

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

in Costa Rica and Chiriquí Province of western Panama. In Mexico it is found on the eastern slope of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

and Veracruz states, and in the

Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...

and Chiapas Highlands of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

state. It has also been reported in Oaxaca state. Its typical habitat is montane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s and other wet forest habitats. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is 500,000 km², 676,000 km² including Oaxaca. The area of occupancy (AOO) for the species is 416 km². The AOO is likely under-estimated due to very limited sampling, but is unlikely to exceed 2000 km².

Conservation

''Quercus cortesii'' is subject to habitat loss across its range from logging of montane forests, and forest clearance for agriculture and cattle pasture. There is little information about the state of some Central American populations. The species' conservation status is Near Threatened.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15336748 cortesii Trees of Central America Flora of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Sierra Madre de Chiapas Chiapas montane forests Flora of the Central American montane forests Trees of Puebla Trees of Veracruz Trees of Chiapas Oaks of Mexico