''Quercus pyrenaica'', also known as Pyrenean oak, or Spanish oak is a tree native to southwestern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and northwestern

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Despite its common name, it is rarely found in the Pyrenees Mountains and is more abundant in northern Portugal and north and northwestern Spain. It is placed in section ''Quercus''. The oak is cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

for gardens and parks.

Description

''Quercus pyrenaica'' is a tall

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree, often

marcescent Marcescence is the withering and persistence of plant organs that normally are shed, and is a term most commonly applied to plant leaves. The underlying physiological mechanism is that trees transfer water and sap from the roots to the leaves ...

in immature individuals, up to tall, though it is sometimes found as a bush or small tree. It has an average lifespan of 300 years. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

have short petioles and are deeply and irregularly lobed, with four to eight pairs of lobes per leaf. There are stellate hairs on both sides of the leaf. Roots frequently produce suckers. The species has high resprouting capabilities. Quercus pyrenaica brote 2010-4-02 DehesaBoyaldePuertollano.jpg, Seedling Quercus pyrenaica 20150812a.jpg, Leaves and acorns Quercus pyrenaica 20190613a.jpg, Habitat Quercus pyrenaica 20181115a.jpg, ''Quercus pyrenaica'' in winter CheneB13.jpg, Bark texture

Distribution and habitat

''Quercus pyrenaica'' is native to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

and parts of southwest France and northern Morocco inhabiting mainly subatlantic or continental environments up to in elevation. In the Iberian Peninsula, which represents 95% of its population, it occupies mainly the northern portion, south of the

Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...

, very common in the west of the Peninsula in the northern half of mountainous Portugal, and rare on the east It is adapted both to sub-humid temperate and Mediterranean semi-arid conditions, from the humid

Peneda-Gerês National Park Peneda-Gerês National Park (, ), also known simply as Gerês, is a national park in Norte Region, Portugal. Created in May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. It covers an area of , occupying the Distric ...

in Portugal, to the semi-arid Spanish central plain. It is also adapted to survive in hot local temperatures. It is thought to have a short growth season to avoid the summer drought. It is often the dominant species in the forests in which it occurs. Its acorns are dispersed by birds and small mammals.

Threats

The species is currently threatened by wild fire which encourage the growth of other oak species that ''Q. pyrenaica'' is unable to compete with, and insect pathogens such as green oak leaf roller moth (''

Tortrix viridana The green oak tortrix, ''Tortrix viridana'', also known as the European oak leafroller and the green oak moth is a distinctive green moth whose larvae feed on tree leaves, especially oak. The head, forebody and front wings are green, the hind win ...

''), the gipsy moth (''

Lymantria dispar ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of Lepidoptera, moth in the family Erebidae native to Europe and Asia. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''Ly ...

'') and brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea''); these threats may become of greater concern due to the impact of climate change. Historically the species experienced decline due to charcoal and timber industry, and forestry activities still pose some threat to ''Q. pyrenaica'' but on a much reduced scale.

References

External links

* {{Authority control pyrenaica Flora of North Africa Trees of Europe Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Flora of France Flora of Morocco Trees of Mediterranean climate Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant trees Ornamental trees Plants described in 1805