Quercus oleoides

{{Short description|Species of oak tree}}

{{speciesbox

| image =

| image_caption =

| genus = Quercus

| display_parents = 3

| parent = Quercus sect. Virentes

| species = oleoides

| authority = Schltdl. & Cham.{{IPNI |id=296529-1 |taxon=Quercus oleoides |access-date=July 19, 2010}}

| synonyms_ref = {{ThePlantList |id=kew-174178 |taxon=Quercus oleoides |authority=Schltdl. & Cham.}}

| synonyms =

{{collapsible list|bullets = true

|Quercus lutescens M.Martens & Galeotti

|Quercus oleoides var. australis Trel.

|Quercus oleoides var. lutescens (M.Martens & Galeotti) A.Camus

|Quercus oleoides f. lutescens (M.Martens & Galeotti) Trel.

|Quercus retusa Liebm.

}}

}}

{{Commonscat}}

Quercus oleoides, with Spanish common names encina or encino, is a Mesoamerican species of oak in the southern live oaks section of the genus Quercus (section Virentes).{{Cite web |last1=Denk |first1=Thomas |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Manos |first3=Paul S. |last4=Deng |first4=Min |last5=Hipp |first5=Andrew L. |date=2017 |title=Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks |website=figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.5547622.v1 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Appendix_2_1_________An_updated_infrageneric_classification_of_the_oaks/5547622/1 |access-date=2023-02-18 |format=xls |name-list-style=amp }} It grows in dry forests and pastureland of eastern and southern Mexico and much of Central America, from Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica north as far as the State of Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.Muller, C. H. 1942. The Central American species of Quercus. United States Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant Industry. Miscellaneous Publication 477: 1–216Nelson, C. H. 1978. Contribuciones a la flora de la Mosquitía, Honduras. Ceiba 22(1): 41–64Pérez J., L. A., M. Sousa Sánchez, A. M. Hanan-Alipi, F. Chiang Cabrera & P. Tenorio L. 2005. Vegetación terrestre. Cap. 4: 65–110. In J. Bueno, F Álvarez & S. Santiago (eds.) Biodiversidad del Estado de Tabasco. CONABIO-UNAM, México

Quercus oleoides is a slow-growing tree, reaching {{convert|8|-|15|m|abbr=off|ft}} in height. Its pale gray leaves are evergreen, thick, hard, {{Convert|4 to 11|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} long, {{Convert|2 to 5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wide, oblong or elliptic. It flowers from December through May, with male catkins that are {{Convert|3 to 4|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, and female catkins that are {{Convert|3 to 30|mm|abbr=off|frac=8}} long, containing one to six flowers, each about 7 mm long.[http://www.rngr.net/publications/ttsm/species/PDF.2004-03-16.1058/at_download/file L. A. Fournier, "Quercus oleoides Schltdl. & Cham.", Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica]

Its wood is extremely heavy with intercrossed grains; the sapwood is white, and heartwood brown.{{Cite web |url=http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/herbarium/collection/3891/?fam=Fagaceae&dtab=2 |title=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Quercus oleoides |access-date=2010-06-12 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720045548/http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/herbarium/collection/3891/?fam=Fagaceae&dtab=2 |url-status=dead }}