Quercus coccifera

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fagales

Familia: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Species: Quercus coccifera
Name

Quercus coccifera L., Sp. Pl. 2: 995 (1753).
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Ilex aculeata Garsault, Fig. Pl. Méd.: t. 117 (1764), opus utiq. oppr.
Quercus pseudococcifera Desf., Fl. Atlant. 2: 349 (1799).
Quercus coccifera var. pseudococcifera (Desf.) A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 52 (1864).
Quercus coccifera subsp. pseudococcifera (Desf.) Arcang., Comp. Fl. Ital.: 634 (1882).
Quercus coccifera f. pseudococcifera (Desf.) Villar, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 28: 446 (1937 publ. 1938).
Quercus rigida Willd., Sp. Pl., ed. 4, 4: 434 (1805).
Scolodrys rigida (Willd.) Raf., Alsogr. Amer.: 29 (1838).
Quercus calliprinos var. rigida (Willd.) A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 56 (1864).
Quercus coccifera var. rigida (Willd.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 170 (1875).
Quercus pentadactyla Bosc, Mém. Cl. Sci. Math. Inst. Natl. France 8: 331 (1807).
Quercus obtecta Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl., Suppl. 2: 218 (1811).
Quercus calliprinos Webb, Iter Hispan.: 15 (1838).
Quercus coccifera var. calliprinos (Webb) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 1169 (1879).
Quercus coccifera subsp. calliprinos (Webb) Holmboe, Stud. Veg. Cyprus: 61 (1914). (accepted by International Oak Checklist)
Quercus mesto Boiss., Voy. Bot. Espagne 2: 579 (1842).
Quercus coccifera subsp. mesto (Boiss.) Nyman, Consp. Fl. Eur.: 662 (1881).
Quercus coccifera var. brachycarpa Willk. in F.Schur, Sert. Fl. Transsilv.: 123 (1853).
Quercus dispar Kotschy, Exsicc. (Pl. Syria Beirut) 1855: n° 442a (1855), nom. illeg.
Quercus recurvans Kotschy, Exsicc. (Pl. Creta) 1855: n° 309b (1855).
Quercus calliprinos var. recurvans (Kotschy) A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 456 (1938).
Quercus fenzlii Kotschy, Eich. Eur. Orient.: 24 (1860).
Quercus calliprinos var. fenzlii (Kotschy) A.Camus, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 80: 355 (1933).
Quercus palaestina Kotschy, Eich. Eur. Orient.: 19 (1860).
Quercus coccifera var. palaestina (Kotschy) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 1170 (1879).
Quercus coccifera subsp. palaestina (Kotschy) Holmboe, Stud. Veg. Cyprus: 61 (1914). (accepted by International Oak Checklist)
Quercus calliprinos var. palaestina (Kotschy) Zohary, Bull. Res. Council Israel, Sect. D, Bot. 9: 183 (1961).
Quercus aquifolia Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 108 (1864), nom. subnud.
Quercus arcuata Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 56 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. arcuata Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 56 (1864).
Quercus coccifera subsp. arcuata (Kotschy ex A.DC.) Tomas., Atti Ist. Bot. Univ. Pavia 9: 144 (1972), nom. illeg.
Quercus brachybalanos Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. brachybalanos (Kotschy ex A.DC.) A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. consobrina A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. eucalliprinos A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. inops A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. leptolepis A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. pachybalanos A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. valida A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864).
Quercus chainolepis Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864).
Quercus coccifera var. imbricata A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 53 (1864).
Quercus coccifera f. imbricata (A.DC.) Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera var. tomentosa A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 53 (1864).
Quercus coccifera f. tomentosa (A.DC.) Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera var. vera A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 52 (1864).
Quercus consobrina Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864).
Quercus cretica Raulin ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864), pro syn.
Quercus dipsacina Kotschy, Exsicc. (Pl. Creta) 1855: n° 200a (1864).
Quercus calliprinos var. dipsacina (Kotschy) A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 456 (1938).
Quercus echinata Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864), nom. inval.
Quercus inops Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 54 (1864), nom. inval.
Quercus valida Kotschy ex A.DC. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 16(2): 55 (1864), nom. inval.
Quercus coccifera var. integrifolia Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 1169 (1879).
Quercus calliprinos var. integrifolia (Boiss.) A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 458 (1938).
Quercus sibthorpii Kotschy ex Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 1169 (1879).
Quercus coccifera f. integrifolia Laguna, Fl. Forest. Españ. 1: 266 (1883), nom. illeg.
Quercus coccifera f. densispinosa Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. exserta Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. genuina Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888), nom. inval.
Quercus coccifera f. inclusa Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. lanceolata Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. laxispinosa Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 4: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. puberula Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. subinclusa Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. subintegrifolia Cout., Bol. Soc. Brot. 6: 101 (1888).
Quercus coccifera f. brevicupulata Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera f. crassicupulata Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera f. echinata Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera var. echinata (Trab.) Albert in A.Albert & É.Jahandiez, Cat. Pl. Vasc. Var: 445 (1908).
Quercus coccifera f. latifolia Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera f. microphylla Trab. in J.A.Battandier & L.C.Trabut, Fl. Algérie, Dicot.: 825 (1890).
Quercus coccifera var. microcarpa Chabert, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 38: 390 (1891 publ (1892).).
Quercus coccifera var. adpressa Albert in A.Albert & É.Jahandiez, Cat. Pl. Vasc. Var: 445 (1908).
Quercus coccifera var. corcyrensis Sprenger, Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges.: 156 (1908).
Quercus coccifera var. refracta Albert in A.Albert & É.Jahandiez, Cat. Pl. Vasc. Var: 445 (1908).
Quercus coccifera var. stenocarpa Albert in A.Albert & É.Jahandiez, Cat. Pl. Vasc. Var: 445 (1908).
Quercus coccifera var. ubrellifera Sprenger, Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges.: 157 (1908).
Quercus coccifera var. macrocarpa Cout., Fl. Portugal: 168 (1913).
Quercus coccifera f. macrocarpa (Cout.) F.M.Vázquez, Semillas Quercus: Biol., Ecol. Manejo: 81 (1998).
Quercus calliprinos var. eigii A.Camus, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 80: 335 (1933).
Quercus coccifera var. ortholepis A.Camus, Chênes, Atlas 1: 36 (1934).
Quercus pseudorigida Kotschy ex A.Camus, Chênes, Atlas 1: 51 (1934).
Quercus coccifera var. dolichocarpa A.Camus, Chênes, Atlas 1: 49 (1935).
Quercus coccifera f. dolichocarpa (A.Camus) F.M.Vázquez, Semillas Quercus: Biol., Ecol. Manejo: 81 (1998).
Quercus coccifera f. piriformis Villar, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 28: 446 (1937 publ. 1938).
Quercus coccifera f. sphaerocarpa Villar, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 28: 446 (1937 publ. 1938).
Quercus calliprinos var. dispar A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 456 (1938).
Quercus calliprinos var. subaquifolia A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 460 (1938).
Quercus coccifera var. angustata A.Camus, Chênes, Texte 1: 443 (1938), nom. illeg.
Quercus coccifera subsp. kryptocarpa Svent. & Marcet, Bol. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 43: 37 (1945).
Quercus coccifera subsp. cryptocarpa Svent. & Marcet, Bol. Real Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., Secc. Biol. 50: 334 (1952).
Quercus calliprinos var. puberula Zohary, Bull. Res. Council Israel, Sect. D, Bot. 9: 184 (1961).
Quercus calliprinos var. subglobosa Zohary, Bull. Res. Council Israel, Sect. D, Bot. 9: 183 (1961).
Quercus coccifera subsp. rivasmartinezii Capelo & J.C.Costa, Silva Lusitana 9: 270 (2001). (accepted by International Oak Checklist)
Quercus rivasmartinezii (Capelo & J.C.Costa) Capelo & J.C.Costa, Silva Lusitana 13: 268 (2005).

Hybrids

Quercus × battandieri

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Baleares, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Sicilia (Sicily), Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia (Serbia & Kosovo; Bosnia & Hercegovina; Croatia; Macedonia; Montenegro).
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Western Asia
Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Lebanon-Syria (Lebanon, Syria), Palestine (Israel, Jordan), Turkey.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 995. Reference page.

Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. & Frodin, D. 1998. World Checklist and Bibliography of Fagales (Betulaceae, Corylaceae, Fagaceae and Ticodendraceae). VIII + 408 p. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-900347-46-6. Reference page.
Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. 2012. Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du Nord. Volume 4: Dicotyledoneae: Fabaceae – Nymphaeaceae. Conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève, ISBN 978-2-8277-0126-1, 431 pp. PDF Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Quercus coccifera in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 28. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Quercus coccifera in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 28. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Quercus coccifera. Published online. Accessed: Jun 28 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Quercus coccifera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 28.
Hassler, M. 2021. Quercus coccifera. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 28. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Quercus coccifera. Accessed: 28 Jun 2021.
International Oak Checklist
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Quercus coccifera in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
العربية: سنديان قرمزي
български: Пърнар
català: Garric
čeština: Dub kermesový
dansk: Kermeseg
Deutsch: Kermes-Eiche
Ελληνικά: Πουρνάρι
English: Kermes Oak
Esperanto: Kirmesa kverko
español: Coscoja
euskara: Abaritz
suomi: Kermestammi
français: Chêne Kermès
galego: Carballo carrasco
hrvatski: Hrast oštrika
hornjoserbsce: Čórlatowc
magyar: Karmazsintölgy
italiano: Quercia spinosa
Taqbaylit: Tasaft yizem
ქართული: კერმესის მუხა
македонски: Прнар
Nederlands: Hulsteik
norsk: Kermeseik
polski: Dąb skalny
português: Carrasco
русский: Дуб кермесовый
sardu: Arroi
српски / srpski: Прнар
svenska: Kermesek
Türkçe: Kermes meşesi

Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the Quercus section Cerris. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus and Turkey, crossing Spain, Italy, Libya, Balkans, and Greece, including Crete. The Kermes Oak was historically important as the food plant of the Kermes scale insect, from which a red dye called crimson was obtained.[2] The etymology of the specific name coccifera is related to the production of red cochineal (crimson) dye and derived from Latin coccum which was from Greek κόκκος, the kermes insect. The Latin -fera means 'bearer'.[3]

Description

Quercus coccifera is usually a shrub less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high, rarely a small tree, reaching 1–6 metres (3.3–19.7 ft) tall (a 10 metres (33 ft) specimen recorded in Kouf, Libya[4]) and 50 cm trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny-serrated coriaceous leaves 1.5–4 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. The acorns are 2–3 cm long and 1.5–2 cm diameter when mature about 18 months after pollination. They are held in a cup covered in dense, elongated, reflexed scales.

It can survive heavy sheep and goat grazing for a long time as a ground carpet a few centimeters high, and will grow higher as a bush or a tree according to how much the grazing pressure is slackened.

Leaves of Quercus coccifera

Leaves of Quercus coccifera

The kermes oak is a scrub oak closely related to the Palestine oak (Quercus calliprinos) of the eastern Mediterranean, with some botanists including the latter in kermes oak as a subspecies or variety. The Palestine oak is distinguished from it by its larger size (more often a tree, up to 18 m) and larger acorns over 2 cm diameter.
Habitat
Flowering, Castelltallat.

It is associated with several asparagus species, Crataegus monogyna, Mediterranean dwarf palm, ephedra, myrtle, several species of Junipers (Juniperus, sabinas...), Pistacia terebinthus, mastic, wild Olea europea, sarsaparilla, Rhamnus atlantica, Rhamnus lycioides, Rhamnus oleoides, Rhamnus catharticus etc. The communities receiving several characteristic names.

It is indifferent to chemistry of soils, living on calcareous, pebbly, stony and poor soils. A lover of warm weather, it starts to fail from 1000 metres above sea level. It is capable of supporting the continental Mediterranean climate with extreme temperatures and low rainfall, replacing Quercus ilex (holm oak) in drier areas where it excels in drought resistance. It also grows on sea cliffs and in windy areas where other species of Quercus or Pinus cannot resist the harsh weather conditions.

Kermes oak species grow in dry, sunny slopes. Quercus coccifera supports either drought summers and semi-desert climate with rainfall between 400 and 600mm, with a maximum in the fall and spring. In its habitat summers are hot and winters are cold with the dry summer season with more than 35 °C, occasionally reaching over 40 °C. In winter the temperatures often drop below 0 °C. It lives in areas with moisture produced by condensation fogs, many Ground frost on clear nights and sporadic snowfalls.

A very hardy species, it grows well in all types of soils as a shrub, withstanding overgrazing.

It blooms from March to May in weather still wet. It is easily propagated by seed, an acorn that lies dormant until germinated by wet weather. This might occur anywhere from late summer to late autumn or early winter (October, November or December) of the following year. The acorns are very bitter, varying greatly in size and shape from one specimen to another and tasting bad. Acorns can germinate even before falling from the plant, but Quercus coccifera is also multiplied by root suckers and layering.

Kermes oaks have become scarce, due to their replacement in wet zones by larger species such as Holm oak. It has also suffered from extensive culling for use as charcoal. It is the only food and shelter for wildlife in some areas, such as the Ebro valley and other dry areas where chaparral replaces oaks due to low rainfall.

Populations typically occur in desert regions without any inhabited nucleus because crops are not economically profitable and the climate becomes progressively more continental and drier and therefore end in extreme temperatures accompanied by slow-growing dwarf juniper species. It is the last species of genus Quercus to disappear when rainfall is lacking. Their ecological importance is as a habitat and food source in these areas (they have edible acorns, although with a very bitter taste) for nesting birds, foxes, rodents and wild boars. It forms thickets, thorny and dense, some recorded as tall as five meters. It is sometimes accompanied by other plant species of the same size and climber plants such as asparagus or zarzaparrilla.
Distribution
Quercus coccifera bush in coastal area

It is an important Mediterranean bush or dwarf vegetation, where the biome it dominates often bears its name (maquis, coscojar, garrigue, carrascal, chaparral, etc.). Q. coccifera form monospecific communities or communities integrated with Pinus, mediterranean buckthorns, Myrtus, Arecaceae, junipers, Pistacia, Rosmarinus, Thymus, etc.

It is located throughout the region around the Mediterranean Sea, especially in central southern and eastern halves. It is similarly found on islands in the Mediterranean, from the Balearic Islands to Cyprus. It is common in Crete and can survive heavy sheep and goat grazing for long periods as a ground cover a few centimeters high. The same is true in Mallorca, Ibiza and the Iberian peninsula.

It is included as an endangered species in the Red Book of Bulgaria.[5]

It is called "chêne des garrigues" (garrigue oak) in French. The term "garrigue" comes from Catalan or Occitan "garric" (meaning "twisted") the name for Q. coccifera in those languages.

The common Spanish name of Q. coccifera is chaparro, which refers to its small size, a feature it shares with other oak species in similar habitats in other parts of the world, such as the chaparral communities from various parts of the Americas. The word chaparro comes from the Basque txapar meaning "little thicket".[6]
Tree of the year 2014 in Cyprus

The Cyprus Government has declared Quercus coccifera as the tree of the year 2014. A four-page leaflet has been published (www.moa.gov.cy/forest) with the code P.I.O. 212/2013, printed by the Government Printing Office. The name of the tree in Greek is Prinos or Pournari (Πουρνάρι). In Cyprus also is one of the biggest tree of this kind, with 17 meters tall and 700 years old, in the village of Kalopanagiotis.
Gallery

Trunk

Leaves

See also
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Kermes (dye)

References

"Quercus coccifera L.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
Young, Frank N. Jr; Kritsky, Gene (2002). A Survey of Entomology. San Jose: Writers Club Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-595-22143-2.
"Cochineal".
"Important bird areas fact sheet: Jabal al Akhdar". BirdLife International. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
"Quercus coccifera". Red Book of Bulgaria, vol. 1. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
"chaparral". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Retrieved 2013-06-22.