Quercus welshii
| Quercus welshii | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
| Section: | Quercus sect. Quercus |
| Species: | Q. welshii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus welshii | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
| |
Quercus welshii, the wavy leaf oak, shinnery oak, or Tucker oak, is a North American species of shrub in the (beech family) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.[3]: 143
Description[edit]
Growth pattern[edit]
Quercus welshii is a deciduous shrub 2 to 6 feet (0.61 to 1.83 meters) tall.[3]: 143
Roots, stems, and leaves[edit]
The plant has an elaborate root system, anchoring it in sandy soils and helping stabilize soils in sandy desert scrub communities.[3]: 143
The leaves are elliptical or lance-shaped with 6–10 lobes along the margins and pointed tips, sometimes with lobes and teeth.[3]: 143
The leaves are up to 1⁄2 to 2 in (1.3 to 5.1 cm) long with dense hairs on both sides, becoming smooth with age.[3]: 143
Inflorescence and fruit[edit]
Quercus welshii blooms from March to June.[3]: 143
Male and female flowers are in separate hanging clusters.[3]: 143
Acorns are 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in (13 to 19 millimeters) long.[3]: 143
Taxonomy[edit]
The species was first described by Stanley Larson Welsh in 1986 as Quercus havardii var. tuckeri. It was raised to a full species by R.A. Denham in 2003 using the replacement name Quercus welshii,[4] named after Welsh,[3]: 143 as the name Quercus tuckeri had already been used for a fossil species.[5] Quercus welshii has been included within Quercus havardii, but both morphological and molecular evidence suggests that it is distinct.[6] Quercus welshii is not included in a 2017 list of Quercus species by subgenus and section, but Quercus havardii is placed in Quercus sect. Quercus.[7]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Quercus welshii can be found in sand desert shrub communities, and sandy soils of blackbrush scrub and pinyon–juniper woodland communities in Arizona, Utah, western Colorado, and northwestern New Mexico.[3]: 143 [8]
References[edit]
- ^ "Quercus welshii R.A.Denham", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 5 September 2014 – via The Plant List Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ "Quercus welshii", International Plant Names Index (IPNI), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ISBN 978-0-7627-7013-7
- ^ "Quercus welshii R.A.Denham". The International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ "Quercus tuckeri". The International Fossil Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Zumwalde, Bethany A.; McCauley, Ross A.; Fullinwider, Ian J.; Duckett, Drew; Spence, Emma & Hoban, Sean (2021). "Genetic, Morphological, and Environmental Differentiation of an Arid-Adapted Oak with a Disjunct Distribution". Forests. 12: 465. doi:10.3390/f12040465.
- ^ Denk, Thomas; Grimm, Guido W.; Manos, Paul S.; Deng, Min & Hipp, Andrew L. (2017-11-02). "Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks" (xls). figshare. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ "Quercus welshii", County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA), Biota of North America Program (BONAP), 2014
