Quercus acuta

Japanese Evergreen Oak
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Cyclobalanopsis
Species: Q. acuta
Binomial name
Quercus acuta
Thunb

Quercus acuta, the Japanese evergreen oak, is an oak native to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China's Guizhou Province and Guangdong Province.[1] Due to its foliage and habitat, it looks very unlike an oak.

It is usually bushy and densely domed, reaching a height of 14 m. The bark is smooth and dark grey. Leaves are dark and glossy above and yellowish beneath. They narrow to a long, finely-rounded tip. The flowers are on a stiff 5 cm catkin.

Often called Japanese white oak or shiro kashi, it is a standard choice for Japanese martial arts practice weapons such as bokken, because it has a uniformly tight grain structure due to its continuous growing season.[2] It should not be confused with the oriental or Asian white oak, Quercus aliena.

References

  1. ↑ "Quercus acuta". Oaks of the World Accessed 8 April 2011.
  2. ↑ James Goedkoop: "Woods for Training Weapons". Aikiweb Accessed 10 November 2012.
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