''Quercus macrolepis'', the Valonia oak, is a species of oak in 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 ever ...

. Formerly, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of the closely related and

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...

mount Tabor oak. At present, however, it is mostly granted species-status.

Geographical range

It is found in 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 ...

, and in the southern and eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, including

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 share ...

, the

Greek Islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

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

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

Systematics

Within the oak genus, Quercus macrolepis is classified in the subgenus ''Cerris'', section ''Cerris'', which includes the

turkey oak Turkey oak is a common name for several species of oaks and may refer to: *''Quercus cerris'', native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor *''Quercus laevis ''Quercus laevis'', the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is na ...

and related species. It is most closely related to Mount Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis) and Brant's oak (Quercus brantii).

Uses

The cups, known as valonia, are used for tanning 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

macrolepis Trees of Europe Trees of Morocco Flora of Albania Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Trees of Mediterranean climate {{Quercus-stub

Geographical range

Systematics

Uses

See also

References