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Editor's Picks

Pages from Gert's book
It was a great pleasure for me to be able to write about my...
Gert Fortgens | Feb 15, 2024
Quercus marlipoensis acorns
A new study has analyzed the germination characteristics of...
Website Editor | Feb 15, 2024
Gall on Quercus grahamii
A new species of oak gall wasp has been named in honor of...
Website Editor | Feb 14, 2024

Plant Focus

A small but mature Alabama sandstone oak producing acorns © Patrick Thompson
A Critically Endangered dwarf oak 

Dendrology

First Time Ex-Situ Reproduction of Quercus insignis

Quercus insignis seedling

An acorn from a specimen of Quercus insignis growing in Hackfalls Arboretum in New Zealand germinated earlier this year.

Quercus havardii

We are currently requesting accessions data, including provenance information, from all gardens that maintain oak species. 

A Neophyte Revisits the Florida Oaks

Florida oaks

In January 2011, I made a quick visit to several natural areas in Palm Beach County, Florida while on a business trip and had my first experience with the varied oak habitats of the South Florida coast. In January 2017, I had the chance to relive the experience and revisit three of those spots – the High Ridge Scrub, Juno Dunes, and Frenchman’s Forest Natural Areas.

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Ever since the genus Quercus grabbed my attention, I have been amazed by the ability of oaks to hybridize easily (sometimes too easily), even when the species involved don't share habitat in the wild.

The Hills Are Alive with Oaks

Quercus sinuata

Copenhagen Hills Preserve is an ecological gem.  With its unique calcium-rich soils, it hosts a plethora of plant communities, ranging from pine forests and prairies to bottomlands and swamps.  This cornucopia of habitats is home to many rare and indigenous plants, such as purple cone flower (Echinacea purpurea), three-flowered hawthorn (Crataegus triflora), and, of course, a variety of uncommon oak species.

The Sacred Silence of Pholoe

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The Pholoe oak forest is located in southwestern Greece, in a plateau area at an altitude of about 600 m. It is an ecosystem that is unique in Europe as it is a high forest of even-aged oaks.

Micropropating oaks

A reliable asexual propagation method for oaks is crucial for introducing superior hybrid oak selections into the nursery trade as named cultivars. 

Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy and the Kotschy Oak

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Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy was an Austrian botanist and eminent plant explorer. He died 150 years ago in Vienna on June 11, 1866.

Vallonea or Aegilops Oaks, a Short Review

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A review of the assemblage of the oaks known as the "vallonea oaks" or "aegilops oaks" from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant.

Oak Red Listing Project Update

Quercus oglethorpensis seedlings, Jasper Co., Georgia, USA

In January, 2015, The Morton Arboretum launched a project in collaboration with BGCI and the IUCN/SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, which aims to complete IUCN Red List threat assessments for all of the world's oak species. 

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