''Quercus segoviensis'' 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 ...

native to southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and northern

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It is commonly known as ''k’antulán''.

Description

''Quercus segoviensis'' is a small or medium-sized tree which grows up to 22 meters tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm in diameter.

Range and habitat

''Quercus segoviensis'' is native to the mountains of southern Mexico and northern Central America. Its range includes the

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca is a mountain range in southern Mexico. It is primarily in the state of Oaxaca, and extends north into the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Geography The mountain range begins at Pico de Orizaba, and extends in a southeas ...

and eastern

Sierra Madre del Sur The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. Geography The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...

of Mexico's

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

state, the Chiapas Highlands of central Chiapas, 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 ...

of Chiapas and Guatemala, the Guatemalan Highlands, and the Chortis Highlands of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, including Honduras' Montaña de Comayagua National Park. It is often found as a canopy tree in montane oak and pine–oak forests and

cloud forests 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 ...

between 750 and 2,500 meters elevation. It is widely distributed in its native highlands. Much of its habitat has been disturbed by clearance for agriculture and livestock grazing and frequent human-set fires, but the species shows robust regeneration in cleared areas and along forest edges. Its conservation status is assesssed as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Uses

The tree produces a hard timber which is used for poles, fences, houses, tool handles, and for firewood.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15338879 segoviensis Oaks of Mexico Trees of Central America Cloud forest flora of Mexico Flora of the Central American pine–oak forests Flora of the Central American montane forests Flora of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Flora of the Sierra Madre del Sur