Quercus lusitanica Lam.
Q. fruticosa Brot., Q. humilis Lam., Q. faginea Lam. subsp. lusitanica (Lam.) Maire
Eng.: Gall oak. Spa.: Quejigueta. Fre.: Chêne nain. Ara.: Zehn. Tam.: Korrich, techt, tachta, tist, test, tazent, azzen, alba.
Marcescent shrub, monoecious, that can reach up to 3 m in height, but rarely reaches above 1 m. Very ramose from the base, with bark ± smooth, ashen-whitish. Branchlets chestnut-yellowish, usually covered with a longly persistent tomentum; becoming glabrescent later. Leaves [2.5-6 (12) × 1.2-3.5(5) cm], alternate, marcescent, coriaceous, elliptic or ovate-elliptic, with entire margin roughly towards the base, and sinuate-dentate or lobulate ± from the middle to the apex. Young leaves tomentose on both sides; turning ± dark green when adult, lustrous and glabrous on the upper side and ± ashen and tomentose on the underside. Petiole tomentose (1-5 mm). Male flowers numerous, in greenish-yellow catkins, pendant (3-5 cm). Female flowers grouped in 2-5 into erect spikes. Fruit (the acorn) an ovoid achene (10-16 × 8-12 mm), chestnut in colour, with cupule composed of ovate-triangular scales, imbricated and ± applied, tomentose, lower scales ± gibbous.
Flowering:
April to May.
Fruiting:
September to November.
Habitat:
Siliceous terrains with oceanic influence, almost from sea level to about 800 m. In subhumid to humid bioclimate, on thermomediterranean floor. Usually as understory of Q. suber forests.
Distribution:
Western Iberian Peninsula. In North Africa is rare, only known from some mountains of the Tingitana Peninsula (Jebel Kebir, Jebel Zemzem, Jebel Khessana, etc.).
Conservation status:
Rare species with a small distribution area. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc (Fennane, 2021) it has been considered as Vulnerable (VU).
