Quercus cupreata Trel. & C.H.Mull.

Mexico (Nuevo Leon) ; 800-1400 m;

5-10 m tall;

6-10 cm x 2-4; oval lanceolate; acuminate, base rounded to slightly cuneate and somewhat oblique; margin shalloly 5-7 pairs lobed, lobes bristle-tipped; dark green, hairless above; tomentose underneath at first, then glabrous; 5-8 veins pairs, prominent on each side; long hairless petiole to 2 cm;

acorn ovoid 1.5 cm long; 1 or 2 together, longitudinaly stripped; cup covering 1-3 of nut, funnel-shaped with spreading margin and hairy appressed scales; maturing in 2 years;

hardiness zone 7-8; withstands -15°C;

– A. Camus : n° 394; – Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, Series Erythromexicanae, Group Acutifolia; – Related to Q. canbyi though this taxon has acorns maturing in 1 year; for today’s Mexican Authors (Silvia Romero Rangel, 2006, for Govaerts 2007 and for POWO, it is a synonym of Q.xalapensis (though acorns are quite different, Q. xalapensis has 6-11 veins pairs and a petiole to 4 cm long, among other differences…!?). In 1998, Govaerts thought it was a true species, as for Susana Valencia-A. 2004. – Rare species. Threatened (IUCN Red List Category : EN)