Quercus coccifera, the Kermes Oak, is an oak in the Turkey oak section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is native to the western Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, from Morocco and Portugal east to Libya and Greece.

Description

Quercus coccifera is a large shrub, rarely a small tree, reaching 1–6 metres (3.3–20 ft) tall (rarely to 10 metres (33 ft)) and 50 cm trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny-serrated 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.

Flowering, Castelltallat.

The Kermes Oak, Quercus coccifera, is 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.

It is common in Crete and can survive heavy sheep and goat grazing for long periods as a ground carpet a few centimeters high.

Uses

The Kermes Oak was historically important as the food plant of the Kermes scale insect, from which a red dye called crimson was obtained.^[1] The etymology of the specific name 'coccifera' is related to the production of red cochineal (crimson) dye and derived from a diminutive of Latin coccinus which was from Greek kokkinos (= the kermes bug). The latin -fera means 'bearer'.^[2]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quercus coccifera

• Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
• Garrigue
• Maquis shrubland

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Quercus calliprinos, the Palestine Oak, is an oak in the turkey oak section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is native to eastern Mediterranean region and southwest Asia, from northern Algeria and Turkey east across the Middle East.

Description

Quercus calliprinos is a small to medium-sized tree or large shrub reaching 5–18 m tall (often only 1–3 m tall where heavily browsed by goats) and 1 m trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny-serrated leaves 3–5 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad. The acorns are 3–4 cm long and 2–3 cm diameter when mature about 18 months after pollination, held in a cup covered in dense, elongated, reflexed scales.

The Palestine Oak, Quercus calliprinos, is closely related to the Kermes Oak (Q. coccifera) of the western Mediterranean, and is treated as a subspecies or variety of it by some botanists. The Kermes Oak is distinguished from it by its smaller size (usually shrubby, not over 10 m) and smaller acorns less than 2 cm diameter.

leaves and acorns

References

• Palestine Oak in "Wildflowers of Israel"

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quercus calliprinos