Quercus coccifera

Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak or commonly known as Palestine oak,^[3] is an oak shrub or tree in section Ilex of the genus.^[4] It has many synonyms, including Quercus calliprinos.^[2] It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus and Turkey, crossing Spain, Italy, Libya, the Balkans, and Greece, including Crete. The Kermes oak was historically important as the food plant of Kermes scale insects, from which a red dye called crimson was obtained.^[5] The etymology of the specific name coccifera is related to the production of red cochineal (crimson) dye and derived from Latin coccum which was from Greek κόκκος, the kermes insect. The Latin -fera means 'bearer'.^[6]

Kermes oak
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Quercus
Subgenus:	Quercus subg. Cerris
Section:	Quercus sect. Ilex
Species:	Q. coccifera
Binomial name
Quercus coccifera L.
Distribution map
Synonyms[2]
List Ilex aculeata Garsault Quercus aquifolia Kotschy ex A.DC., nom. subnud. Quercus arcuata Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus brachybalanos Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus calliprinos Webb Quercus chainolepis Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus coccifera subsp. calliprinos (Webb) Holmboe Quercus coccifera subsp. cryptocarpa Svent. & Marcet Quercus coccifera subsp. kryptocarpa Svent. & Marcet Quercus coccifera subsp. palaestina (Kotschy) Holmboe Quercus consobrina Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus cretica Raulin ex A.DC., pro syn. Quercus dipsacina Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus dispar Kotschy ex A.DC., nom. illeg. Quercus echinata Kotschy ex A.DC., not validly publ. Quercus fenzlii Kotschy Quercus inops Kotschy ex A.DC., not validly publ. Quercus mesto Boiss. Quercus obtecta Poir. Quercus palaestina Kotschy Quercus pentadactyla Bosc Quercus pseudorigida Kotschy ex A.Camus Quercus recurvans Kotschy ex A.DC. Quercus rigida Willd. Quercus sibthorpii Kotschy ex Boiss. Quercus valida Kotschy ex A.DC. Scolodrys rigida (Willd.) Raf.

Description

Quercus coccifera is usually a shrub less than 2 metres (6+1⁄2 feet) high, rarely a small tree, reaching 1–6 metres (3+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 ft) tall (with 10 m or 33 ft specimens recorded in Kouf, Libya).^[7]

Gallery

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  Trunk
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  Leaves on branch
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  Leaves
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  Close-up of leaves
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  Acorns
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  Kermes oak in Kythera

Taxonomy

Quercus coccifera

Quercus coccifera was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.^[2] It is called "chêne des garrigues" (garrigue oak) in French. The term "garrigue" comes from Catalan or Occitan "garric" (meaning "twisted") the name for Q. coccifera in those languages. The common Spanish name of Q. coccifera is chaparro, which refers to its small size, a feature it shares with other oak species in similar habitats in other parts of the world, such as the chaparral communities from various parts of the Americas. The word chaparro comes from the Basque txapar meaning "little thicket".^[8] Quercus coccifera is placed in section Ilex.^[9]

Quercus calliprinos

As of February 2023^[update], Plants of the World Online regards it as a synonym of Quercus coccifera,^[2] but this is widely disputed, with many authors, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, considering it distinct at least at subspecies rank, if not as a species.^[3]

Q. coccifera bush in coastal area

Flowering in the Castelltallat range

Conservation

It is included as an endangered species in the Red Book of Bulgaria.^[10]

See also

• Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
• Kermes (dye)