Quercus aliena
{{Short description|Species of oak tree}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Quercus aliena
| image = Quercus_aliena5.jpg
| image_caption = Leaves and pollen catkins. Osaka, Japan.
| genus = Quercus
| display_parents = 2
| parent = Quercus sect. Quercus
| species = aliena
| authority = BlumeSpecies was originally described and published in Mus. Bot. 1(19): 298. 1851. {{IPNI|id=295765-1|taxon=Quercus aliena |authority=Blume |accessdate=July 19, 2010}}
}}
Quercus aliena, the galcham oak{{cite book |editor1-last=Lee |editor1-first=Sangtae |editor2-last=Chang |editor2-first=Kae Sun |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |year=2015 |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |location=Pocheon |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |page=599 |url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |access-date=12 March 2019 |via=Korea Forest Service}} or oriental white oak, is a species of oak in the family Fagaceae, in the white oak section Quercus.{{cite web |website=International Oak Society oak checklist |url=http://www.oaknames.org/search/fullname.asp?id=27 |title=Quercus aliena}}{{GRIN | access-date = January 19, 2018}}
Description
It is a deciduous tree growing to {{convert|30|m}} tall with a trunk up to {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} in diameter with fissured gray-brown bark. The leaves are obovate to oblong, glabrous above, glabrous to densely grey-white hairy below, mostly {{convert|10|–|20|cm|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} long and {{convert|5|–|14|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} wide (rarely up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|16|cm|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} wide), with 9 to 15 lobes on each side, and a {{convert|10|–|13|mm|abbr=on|frac=8}} petiole.
The flowers monecious catkins. The acorns are {{convert|17|–|25|mm|abbr=on|frac=8}} long and {{convert|13|–|18|mm|abbr=on|frac=8}} wide, a third to a half enclosed in a green-grey cup on a short peduncle; they are solitary or 2–3 together, and mature in about six months from pollination. A long-lived tree, it is slow-growing.{{eFloras|2|200006285|Quercus aliena}}{{cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Mong-Huai |first2=Sheng-Chieh |last2=Wu |first3=Chang-Fu |last3=Hsieh |first4=Sin-I |last4=Chen |first5=Kuoh-Cheng |last5=Yang |date=2003 |title=Rediscovery of Quercus aliena Blume (Fagaceae) in Taiwan |periodical=Taiwania |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=112–117 |url=http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/162184/1/25.pdf}}{{PFAF}}
Taxonomy
Three to five varieties are accepted:
- Quercus aliena var. aliena. Leaf margin wavy; leaf greyish below.
- Quercus aliena var. acutiserrata Maxim. Leaf margin serrated, with sharp serration; leaf densely hairy below with greyish hairs.
- Quercus aliena var. pekingensis Schottky. Leaf margin serrated, with rounded serration; leaf glabrous or only slightly hairy below.
- Quercus aliena var. alticupulifirmis H.Wei Jen & L.M.Wang (not accepted by Flora of China).
- Quercus aliena var. pellucida Blume (not accepted by Flora of China).
Hybrids between Quercus aliena and several other oaks in Quercus sect. Quercus are known.
= Common names =
Distribution
It is native to East Asian states of Korea, Japan (where it occurs in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu), Taiwan and mainland China (where it occurs in the provinces of Anhui, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang).
Cultivation and uses
The wood is used in East Asia for boat building and wood flooring for houses. The seeds can be crushed into a powder and used as a soup thickener and for mixing into cereals and breads. The seeds when roasted can also be used as a substitute for coffee. Galls produced by the larvae of insects are a rich source of tannin.
Quercus aliena was introduced to Europe in 1908, but remains rare in cultivation outside of its native area.{{cite book |last=Bean |first=W. J. |date=1976 |title=Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles |volume=3 |page=461 |edition=8th revised |publisher=John Murray}} The taproot is deep, making older plants difficult to move. It grows in full sun or partial shade and tolerates strong winds. It can grow in almost any type of soil as long as not waterlogged.