''Quercus ithaburensis'' subsp. ''macrolepis'', the Valonia oak, is a subspecies of ''

Quercus ithaburensis ''Quercus ithaburensis'', the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family. It is found in Southeastern Europe, from southeastern Italy, southern Albania and Greece, and in southwestern Asia from Turkey south through Lebanon, Israel, Syria, an ...

'', a member of the beech 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 evergre ...

. It may also be treated as a separate species, ''Quercus macrolepis''.

Taxonomy

The Valonia oak was first described as the species ''Quercus macrolepis'' by

Carl Friedrich Kotschy Carl Friedrich Kotschy ( pl, Karol Fryderyk Kotschy, Karol Koczy, 26 January 1789 – 9 February 1856) was an Austrian Protestant theologian and botanist born in Cieszyn, Teschen (today Cieszyn, Poland). He was the father of botanist Theodor K ...

in 1860. It was reduced to a subspecies of ''Quercus ithaburensis'' in 1981. Within the oak genus, ''Q. ithaburensis'' is classified in the subgenus ''Cerris'', section ''Cerris'', which includes ''

Quercus cerris ''Quercus cerris'', the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris'', a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, ...

'', the Turkey oak, and related species. It is most closely related to ''

Quercus brantii ''Quercus brantii'', the Brant's oak, is a species of oak native to Western Asia, namely in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. ''Quercus brantii'' (covering more than 50% of the Zagros Mountains forest steppe ecoregion) is the most important tree sp ...

'', Brant's oak.

Distribution

''Quercus ithaburensis'' subsp. ''macrolepis'' is native from south-east

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, through the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

(

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

) and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, including

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and the East Aegean Islands), to the eastern Mediterranean (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. It is absent from the

Palestine region Palestine ( el, Παλαιστίνη, ; la, Palaestina; ar, فلسطين, , , ; he, פלשתינה, ) is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include Israel and the State of Palestine (i.e. West Bank and Gaza ...

, where only the subspecies ''ithaburensis'' occurs.

Uses

The cups, known as valonia, are used for

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

and dyeing as are the unripe acorns called camata or camatina. The ripe acorns are eaten raw or boiled.''Qercus aegilops'' on food.oregonstate.edu

References

{{Tannin source ithaburensis macrolepis Flora of Albania Flora of Bulgaria Flora of the East Aegean Islands Flora of Greece Flora of Italy Flora of Crete Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Turkey Flora of European Turkey Flora of Yugoslavia Trees of Europe Trees of Mediterranean climate

Taxonomy

Distribution

Uses

See also

References