Quercus depressa Bonpl.

Mexico (Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz ); endemic in Sierra Madre Oriental; 1800-3100 m;

usually less than 1.2 m tall; rhizomatous;

2-4 cm long, 1-2 wide; evergreen, coriaceous; elliptic to elliptic-oblong; apex acute, acuminate, aristate; base rounded or cuneate; margin entire or with 1-7 pairs of teeth; hairless above, or occasionally with some stellate trichomes near base of midrib; only axil tufts beneath, with sometimes fasciate hairs along veins, without glandular hairs; 5-8 pairs of secondary veins prominent or flat adaxially, remotely prominent underside or nearly flat; epidermis smooth or slightly papillose; petiole glabrescent 2-5 mm long;

male catkins 2.5-4.5 cm long, rachis scarcely pubescent;

acorn 0.9-1.3 cm long, ovoid or almost globose, solitary or paired on a very short, 1-2 mm thick peduncle; cup enclosing 1/4 to 1/2 of nut, with triangular, slightly pubescent scales; maturing in 2 years, from August to November;

hardy;

– A. Camus : n° 366; – Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, Series Erythromexicanae; – Possible confusion with Q. galeanensis , but this one has stiff, strongly leathery leaves, oblong or oblanceolate in shape, with a subcordate or truncate base; it may be confused as well with Q. laurina and Q. affinis, but both are trees, not shrubs.