Quercus variabilis #066.2013B
photographs © James MacEwen more info
Plant Accession Number:
066.2013B
Accepted Name:
Quercus variabilis Blume
Common Name:
Chinese cork oak
Accession Date:
Oct 26, 2013
Garden Area:
Polytunnel
Group:
section Cerris
Taxon Description:
A large deciduous tree reaching 30 m tall with a characteristic corky bark and downy young shoots. Leaves oblong to lanceolate, to 20 cm long and 5 cm wide, tapered to a point at the tip, rounded at the base with a stalk to 2 cm long. Up to sixteen pairs of parallel veins end in short, bristle-tipped teeth. They emerge densely covered in white hairs, becoming glossy dark green above with a persistent grey tomentum beneath. Acorns ovoid to nearly rounded, to 2.5 cm long, ripening in the second year and borne singly in an unstalked cup densely covered in recurved scales. In several parts of China this species is grown for its cork, and the acorns fed to pigs. Introduced by Robert Fortune in 1861, it has reached 22 m at Windsor Great Park.First planted here in 1993, the three trees planted out are growing rather slowly.
Categories:
- Rated as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List of Oaks
- Quercus Species
Natural Range:
- China
- Japan
- Korea