''Quercus welshii'', the wavy leaf oak, shinnery oak, or Tucker oak, is a North American species of
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
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 evergre ...
) found in the
Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.
[Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ]
Description
Growth pattern
''Quercus welshii'' is a
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
shrub tall.
[
]
Roots, stems, and leaves
The plant has an elaborate root system, anchoring it in sandy soils and helping stabilize soils in sandy desert scrub communities.[
The leaves are ]elliptical
Elliptical may mean:
* having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape
** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape
** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform
* characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...
or lance-shaped with 6–10 lobes along the margins and pointed tips, sometimes with lobes and teeth.[
The leaves are up to long with dense hairs on both sides, becoming smooth with age.][
]
Inflorescence and fruit
''Quercus welshii'' blooms from March to June.[
Male and female flowers are in separate hanging clusters.][
]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 are long.[
]
Name
The species was named after Stanley L. Welsh.
Distribution and habitat
''Quercus welshii'' can be found in sand desert shrub The flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the Western United States.
The flora is generally characterized by plant adaptations to the arid conditions of the region, and a wide variation of plant communities from wide variations in ...
communities, and sandy soils of blackbrush scrub
Blackbush scrub,Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, p18, 252 or blackbrush scrub,Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, p 3, 105 is a vegetation type of the Western United States deserts characterized by low growing, dark gray blackbush (''Co ...
and pinyon–juniper woodland
Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a vegetation type (biome) of Western United States higher elevation deserts, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers (''Juniperus oste ...
communities in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, western Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, and northwestern New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
.
References
photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Utah in 1985
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15339870
welshii
Flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region
Plants described in 1986
Flora without expected TNC conservation status