Quercus humboldtii
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Quercus humboldtii 1.JPG
| image_caption =
| image2 = Quercus humboldtii 3.JPG
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Quercus
| display_parents = 2
| parent = Quercus sect. Lobatae
| species = humboldtii
| authority = Bonpl.
| synonyms_ref = [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-173110 The Plant List, Quercus humboldtii Bonpl. ]
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|Erythrobalanus humboldtii (Bonpl.) O.Schwarz
|Erythrobalanus lindenii (A.DC.) O.Schwarz
|Erythrobalanus tolimensis (Bonpl.) O.Schwarz
|Quercus almaguerensis Bonpl.
|Quercus humboldtii Kotschy ex A.DC.
|Quercus humboldtii var. lehmanniana Hieron. ex Trel.
|Quercus lindenii A.DC.
|Quercus tolimensis Bonpl.
|}}
}}
Quercus humboldtii, commonly known as the Andean oak, Colombian oak or roble, is a species of oak found only in Colombia and Panama. It is named for Alexander von Humboldt.
Description
Quercus humboldtii is an evergreen tree which grows to a height of {{Convert|25|m|abbr=off}} and a diameter of {{Convert|1|m|abbr=on}}, with buttresses of up to 1 m. Its bark is reddish gray or gray and fissured, breaking into squares and flaking. The leaves are simple, alternate and lanceolate, up to {{Convert|10–20|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long, and clustered at the ends of the branches. The flowers are small, yellow, and unisexual, with a racemic inflorescence. Male flowers are numerous, with long-styled female flowers in a cupula. The fruit is a light brown, ovoid capsule, or acorn, with a leathery pericarp, {{Convert|20–25|mm|abbr=off|frac=4}} in diameter and {{Convert|50–70|mm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, resting on a scaly cupule. Only one fruit per cupule is developed, and the inside of the acorn shell is woolly.{{cite web |url= http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/AFTPDFS/Quercus_humboldtii.pdf|title= Quercus humboldtii |access-date=2010-05-22 |work=Orwa C, Mutua A, Kindt R, Jamnadass R, Simons A.|publisher= Agroforestry Database 4.0 |date=2009 }}[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/279375#page/298/mode/1up Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre 1809. Plantae Aequinoctiales 2: 155-156] short description in Latin, longer description plus commentary and figure captions in French[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/279375#page/296/mode/1up Bonpland, Aimé Jacques Alexandre 1809. Plantae Aequinoctiales 2: plate 130] full-page drawing of Quercus humboldtii
Distribution and habitat
It grows in the mountains with an elevational range from {{Convert|1,000 to 3,200|m|abbr=on}}. It is found on all three Colombian Andean mountain ranges and some lowland inter-Andean regions,{{cite web |date=2006 |title=Biogeography of the Colombian oak, Quercus humboldtii Bonpl: geographical distribution and their climatic adaptation |url=http://ciat-library.ciat.cgiar.org/Articulos_Ciat/Gonzalez_2006.pdf |access-date=2010-05-22 |work=González, Carlos E.; Jarvis, Andy; & Palacio, Juan Diego. |publisher=International Center for Tropical Agriculture}}Muller, C. H. 1942. The Central American species of Quercus. United States Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant Industry. Miscellaneous Publication 477: 1–216[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54721#page/107/mode/1up Muller, C. H. 1960. Flora of Panama, Part IV. Fascicle 2. Fagaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 47(2): 95–104] and in the Serranía del Darién on the border between Panama and Colombia.
The tree grows in the Andean highlands where the mean annual temperature is 16−24 °C, and the mean annual rainfall {{Convert|1500–2500|mm|abbr=on}}. It can be found in moderately fertile and deep soils as well as in degraded soils, preferring shallow soils with a thick layer of humus. The acorns provide important food for wildlife; two parrots – the rusty-faced parrot and Fuertes's parrot – are endemic to the threatened montane ecosystems of the Colombian Andes and are particularly dependent on the Andean oak forests as a home.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4112124}}
Category:Trees of Central America
Category:Trees of northern South America
Category:Plants described in 1809
Category:Taxa named by Aimé Bonpland
Category:Flora of the northwestern Andean montane forests
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