''Quercus leucotrichophora'' is a tree belonging to Family

Fagaceae 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 eve ...

; commonly known as Banjh oak, Banj oak (Uttarakhand) and Ban oak (Himachal). In Nepal, it is known as ''Banjhi'', ''Rainj'', ''Khasarant'', ''Tikhe bhanjh'' in standard

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

and ''Sulsing'' in

Tamang language Tamang (Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāng'') is a term used to collectively refer to a dialect cluster spoken mainly in Nepal, Sikkim, West Bengal ( Darjeeling) and North-Eastern India. It comprises Eastern Tamang, Northwestern Tamang ...

. Some authors named it as ''Quercus incana'' Roxburgh.

Description

''Quercus leucotrichophora'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

tree bearing stalked, ovate to lancolate, acuminate, serrate, leathery, and dark green leaves which are glabrous above and densely white or gray pubescent beneath. The male flowers are slender and drooping spikes. The female spikes are sessile and axillary. There is a solitary

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 bo ...

. ''Quercus leucotrichophora'' flowers in April to May and fruits in December. Naturally, it regenerates via seeds.

Distribution and ecology

''Quercus leucotrichophora'' is distributed in

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. In Nepal, it naturally occurs at in forested areas in association with '' Rhododendron arboreum'', '' Lyonia ovalifolia'', and '' Myrica esculenta''. On south-facing slopes and disturbed areas it forms associations with ''

Pinus roxburghii ''Pinus roxburghii'', commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh. Description ''Pinus roxburghii'' is a large tree reaching with a trunk diamete ...

'' (chir pine). The fungus '' Lactarius abbotanus'' forms ectomycorrhizae with the roots of this tree. The tree is affected with many types of leaf

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external Tissue (biology), tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissu ...

s caused by different types of insects. Many

Cecidomyiidae Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects us ...

genera such as '' Asphondylia'', ''

Lasioptera ''Lasioptera'' is a genus of gall midges in the family Cecidomyiidae Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant ...

'' and '' Dasineura'' are known to cause plant galls. An unknown Itonididae (cecidomyiid) caused pouch leaf galls on the tree.Mishra, P., and V. Patni. "Anatomical changes and development of Cecidomyiid leaf gall of Quercus leucotrichophora-Himalayan white oak." J Mycol Pl Pathol 38.2 (2008): 203–207.

Uses

The Banj oak is among the most useful trees of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

. It is extensively lopped (or branch pruned) for fuelwood and its wood has a high calorific value and good burning properties. The leaves are extensively used as a cattle fodder. The leaf litter is rich in

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seve ...

and makes an excellent compost fertilizer. The timber, while hard and strong and used for agricultural implements, is not particularly valuable as it is hard to work.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6324876 leucotrichophora Plants described in 1935 Trees of the Indian subcontinent Taxa named by Aimée Antoinette Camus