Quercus candicans is a Mesoamerican species of oak tree. It is native to mountain forests of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Quercus candicans | |
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Conservation status | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Fagaceae |
Genus: | Quercus |
Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
Section: | Quercus sect. Lobatae |
Species: | Q. candicans |
Binomial name | |
Quercus candicans | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Common names include ahuahuaxtl, ahuamextli, encino blanco, encino cenizo, encino de agua, encino papatla, huilocualoni, popocamay, tzacui blanco, and tzaquioco.[1]
It is a deciduous tree growing 8 to 25 m (26 to 82 ft) tall[3] with a trunk as much as 100 centimetres (39 inches) in diameter. The leaves are stiff and leathery, rigid, up to 23.5 cm (9+1⁄4 in) long, egg-shaped with numerous pointed teeth along the edges.[4]
Quercus candicans grows in wet montane forests, typically cloud forests but also humid oak forests and pine–oak forests, from 1,200 to 2,700 metres (3,900 to 8,900 feet). It prefers calcareous soils.[4][5][6][3]
Its range includes the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Nayarit states, the Sierra Madre Oriental of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz, The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Mexico City, and Mexico State, the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Oaxaca, the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Chiapas, Guatemala, and El Salvador.[1]
Quercus candicans has been affected by habitat loss from extensive deforestation across most of its range. Its conservation status is Vulnerable. Strong regeneration has been observed at the edges of disturbed areas with intermediate shade.[1]
In 2018, it was found that the type specimen of Quercus candicans was actually a misidentified Roldana, a plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Therefore, the correct name of this species would actually be Quercus calophylla.[7]
Taxon identifiers |
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