Quercus canariensis Willd.

East and South Spain; Algeria, Morocco (in mountains); Tunisia; 700-1000 m;

20-30 m tall; trunk to 1 m in diameter; wide spreading crown;

6-18 x 4-9 cm; semi-evergreen; oboval to oblong-oboval, seldom subelliptical; young leaves woolly tomentose, with thin, long, tawny, fascicled, never stellate, free, loose hairs; then glabrous except at vein axils; adult leaves dull dark green, nearly hairless above; glaucous beneath with brownish hairs along midrib; base subcordate, sometimes auricled; margin with 7-14 pairs of shallow, toothed lobes; 11-14 pairs of parallel, raised lateral veins, diverging from midrib at less than 32°; no intercalary veins; tertiary veins conspicuous ; only one layer of epidermic cells (0.1-0.2 mm thick); petiole 1.5-2.5 cm, dark pinkish, pubescent at first, soon glabrous; winter leaves in part green, in part brown;

between April and May; male catkins 4-8 cm long; pistillate flowers on short pedicel; perianth pubescent, with 6 short lobes; 3-4 styles

acorn 2.5-3.5 cm, ovoid cylindrical; short-stalked (0.5-1 cm); in clusters of 2-3; enclosed 1/3 by the cup; cup hemispherical with tomentose, lanceolate, bulging scales; mature in one year;

hardy; prefers calcareous soils, even heavy and clayey; fast growing; reaches 300 years and more; in cultivation, fertile seeds are generally hybrids with Q.robur ;

– A. Camus : tome 2, p. 150, n° 149; – Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Series Roburoid; – According to O. Schwarz (Monography of Oaks of Europe and Mediterranean Basin), in 1938, this species had yet disappeared from the Canary Islands due to human activities; – OOTW reports hybrid: Q. × lagunai (Q. canariensis × Q. fruticosa (lusitanica))