Quercus fusiformis (also often referred to as Q. virginiana var. fusiformis), commonly known as escarpment live oak, plateau live oak, plateau oak, or Texas live oak, is an evergreen or nearly evergreen tree. Its native range includes the Quartz Mountains and Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma, through Texas (approximately from the Brazos River west up to the Pecos River and the southern Llano Estacado), to the Mexican states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo León.
Quercus fusiformis is an evergreen tree in the southern live oaks section of the genus Quercus (section Virentes). It is distinguished from Quercus virginiana (southern live oak) most easily by the acorns, which are slightly larger and with a more pointed apex. It is also a smaller tree, not exceeding in trunk diametercompared to 2.5 m (75 in) in diameter in southern live oakwith more erect branching and a less wide crown. (not to be confused with the "Election Oak" or Bosque County Oak). It has a circumference of , which is actually larger than the largest recorded Q. virginiana in the state, listed at .
References
External links
- Texas Native Plants Database, Texas A&M University: Quercus fusiformis — horticultural/ornamental tree description.
- photo of herbarium specimen collected in Nuevo León in 2003