Quercus lusitanica

Gall Oak
Quercus lusitanica[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Section: Lepidobalanus
Species: Q. lusitanica
Binomial name
Quercus lusitanica
Lam.
Synonyms
  • Quercus fruticosa Brot.
  • Quercus humilis Lam. 1783 not A. DC. 1805 nor Walter 1788 nor Mill. 1768
  • Quercus valentina Cav.
  • Quercus ovalifolia Bosc ex Pers.
  • Quercus glauca Bosc ex Loisel.
  • Quercus australis Link
  • Quercus undulata K.Koch 1846 not Torr. 1827 nor Kit. 1864 nor Engelm. 1878 nor Benth. 1841
  • Quercus prasina Bosc ex Endl.
  • Quercus aegilopifolia Boiss. ex Endl.
  • Quercus muricata Palau ex Willk. & Lange
  • Quercus quexigo Cook ex Willk. & Lange
  • Quercus aegylopifolia Boiss. ex A.DC.
  • Quercus brachycarpa Kotschy ex A.DC.
  • Quercus rigida K.Koch ex A.DC.
  • Quercus brachycarpa Guss. ex Parl.
  • Quercus baetica H.Buek
  • Quercus zang Dippel

Quercus lusitanica, commonly known as Gall Oak, Lusitanian Oak, or Dyer's Oak, is a species of oak native to Morocco, Portugal, Gibraltar, and Spain.[2] Quercus lusitanica is the source of commercial nutgalls. These galls are produced by the infection from the insect Cynips gallae tinctoriae. They are used for dyeing.

Several other species are known colloquially as "gall oaks;" indeed, galls can be found on a large percentage of oak species.[3] The specific epithet "lusitanica" refers to the ancient Roman Province of Lusitania, corresponding roughly to present-day Portugal.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1897 illustration from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
  2. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ Cranshaw, Whitney (2004). Garden Insects of North America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09560-4.
  4. ↑ Garcia, José Manuel (1989). História de Portugal: Uma Visão Global. Lisboa: Editorial Presença. pp. 32, 33, 38. ISBN 9722309897.