Quercus ithaburensis

{{Speciesbox

| image = ברנע אלון תבור בפרדס חנה.jpg

| image_caption =

|status = LC

|status_system = IUCN3.1

|status_ref ={{cite iucn |author= Gorener, V. |author2= Jerome, D. |date=2018 |title= Quercus ithaburensis |volume=2018 |page= e.T194178A2303017 |doi= 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T194178A2303017.en |access-date=26 December 2022}}

| genus = Quercus

| display_parents = 2

| parent = Quercus sect. Cerris

| species = ithaburensis

| authority = Decne.

| range_map = Quercus ithaburensis range.svg

| range_map_caption = Distribution map

| synonyms_ref ={{cite web |title=Quercus ithaburensis Decne.. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:296316-1 |access-date=2023-02-21 }}

| synonyms =

Of the species:

{{Species_list

|Quercus aegilops var. ithaburensis|(Decne.) Boiss.

|Quercus aegilops subsp. ithaburensis|(Decne.) Eig

|Quercus macrolepis subsp. ithaburensis|(Decne.) Browicz

}}

Of subsp. macrolepis:{{cite web |title=Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (Kotschy) Hedge & Yalt.. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:920259-1 |access-date=2023-02-21 }}

{{Species_list

|Quercus aegilops subsp. macrolepis|(Kotschy) A.Camus

|Quercus aegilops subsp. pyrami|(Kotschy) A.Camus

|Quercus aegilops subsp. vallonea|(Kotschy) A.Camus

|Quercus aegilops|L., nom. rej.

|Quercus agriobalanidea|Papaioannou

|Quercus cretica|Bald.

|Quercus echinata|Lam.

|Quercus ehrenbergii|Kotschy

|Quercus graeca|Kotschy

|Quercus hypoleuca|Kotschy ex A.DC.

|Quercus macrolepis|Kotschy

|Quercus massana|Ehrenb. ex Wenz.

|Quercus pyrami|Kotschy

|Quercus vallonea|A.DC.

|Quercus vallonea|Kotschy

|Quercus ventricosa|Koehne

}}

Quercus ithaburensis, the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is found from southeastern Italy to the Levant. It is the national tree of Jordan.Mouterde, Paul 1966. Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie 1: 365 Two subspecies are accepted, Quercus ithaburensis subsp. ithaburensis and Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (syn. Quercus macrolepis, the Valonia oak). Together with Quercus brantii, it forms a clade of distinct, closely related species within the oak section Cerris.{{Cite web |date=2016-06-04 |title=Vallonea or Aegilops Oaks, a Short Review |url=https://www.internationaloaksociety.org/content/vallonea-or-aegilops-oaks-short-review |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=International Oak Society |language=en}}

Description

Quercus ithaburensis is a small to medium-sized semi-evergreen to tardily deciduous tree growing to a maximum height of around {{Convert|15|m|abbr=off}} with a rounded crown and often with a gnarled trunk and branches. The leaves are {{Convert|4–9|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long and 2–5 cm wide, oval in shape, with 7 to 10 pairs of either teeth (most common) or shallow lobes (rare) along a revolute margin. They are dark glossy green above and gray tomentose below.

The male flowers are light green 5-cm long catkins while the wind-pollinated female flowers are small, up to {{Convert|0.4|mm|frac=32}}, produced in threes on short stalks called peduncles. Flowering occurs from March through April in most of its native range. The acorns are generally oval, up to 5 cm long and 3 cm wide with a cap covering roughly one-third of the acorn, maturing in 18 months, dropping from the tree in the second autumn after pollination. The cap is covered in long stiff loose scales which are rolled backward or involute, especially along the edges of the cap.[http://oaks.of.the.world.free.fr/quercus_ithaburensis.htm Oaks of the World: Quercus ithaburensis][http://www.wildflowers.co.il/english/plant.asp?ID=370 Wild Flowers of Israel: Quercus ithaburensis]Menitsky, Yu.L. (2005). Oaks of Asia. Science Publishers {{ISBN|1-57808-229-3}}.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are accepted:

Quercus ithaburensis subsp. ithaburensis – Turkey to the Palestine region{{cite web |title=Quercus ithaburensis subsp. ithaburensis |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77172217-1 |access-date=2023-02-21 }}
Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (Kotschy) Hedge & Yalt., syn. Quercus macrolepis, the Valonia oak[http://www.serendipity.gr/Society%20for%20Valonia%20Oak.htm Society for Valonia Oak website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625172549/http://www.serendipity.gr/Society%20for%20Valonia%20Oak.htm |date=June 25, 2011 }} – throughout the range of the species except the Palestine region

Distribution and habitat

Quercus ithaburensis is native from the central and east Mediterranean basin. This oak grows in southeastern Italy, South Albania, coast areas and islands of Greece, South and West Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan.

Before the 20th century, the Plain of Sharon was covered by open woodland dominated by Quercus ithaburensis, which extended from Kfar Yona in the north to Ra’anana in the south. The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for pasture, firewood and intermittent cultivation. The intensification of settlement and agricultural development, as well as the exploitation of native woodlands along the coastal plain by the Ottoman Empire (primarily in the form of timber for railroad construction) during the 19th century led to deforestation and subsequent environmental degradation - a theme commonly discussed in Hebrew sources.{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |date=2022-12-01 |title=יער‬ ‫השרון (אל-ע'אבה) בתקופה העות'מאנית:‬ ‫בתקופה‬ ‫מהמחקר‬ ‫חדשות‬ ‫תובנות‬ ‫הגיאוגרפי-היסטורי The Oak Forest of the Sharon (al-Ghaba) in the Ottoman Period: New Insights from Historical- Geographical Studies |url=https://www.academia.edu/93207554 |journal=Muse |volume=5 |pages=90–107}}{{Cite web |last=ICSD |date=2016-01-24 |title=Trees and Humans in the Holy Land {{!}} The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development |url=https://interfaithsustain.com/trees-and-humans-in-the-holy-land-2/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=interfaithsustain.com |language=en-US}}

Uses

The cups of Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis, known as valonia, are used for tanning and dyeing as are the unripe acorns called camata or camatina. The ripe acorns are eaten raw or boiled.[http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/q/qplant1.html Qercus aegilops on food.oregonstate.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721015338/http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/q/qplant1.html |date=July 21, 2010 }}

File:Quercus ithaburensis ssp.macrolepis MHNT.BOT.2004.0.80.jpg