Plant Focus

Cultivar Close-up: Thread and Lace

By Ryan Russell | February 15, 2018

As Co-Registrar of oak cultivars I think it’s important to periodically remind members about some of the exceptional selections of oaks that are out there in collections and nurseries. In the interest of appealing to a broader group, I thought I would select a cultivar from the Old World and one from the New.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.

By Website Editor | February 14, 2018

Quercus semecarpifolia, commonly known as brown oak, is the main forest-forming evergreen tree species from upper temperate to subalpine regions (2,500–3,300 m) in Western Himalaya.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus hypoleucoides A. Camus

By Roderick Cameron | December 14, 2017

For this Species Spotlight we train our follow spot on an oak that is quite a star of the quercine scene: Quercus hypoleucoides (stage name: silverleaf oak).

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Cultivar Close-up: Hi-Yo Silver!

By Roderick Cameron | August 19, 2017

As we celebrate 25 years of the IOS, we take a look at oaks that have an association with silver. In a Species Spotlight Joeri Strijk describes Quercus argentata (the epithet derives from the Latin word for silver: argentum) and below are three well-known cultivars with silver associations.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus argentata Korth.

By Joeri Strijk | August 16, 2017

Quercus argentata is an evergreen tropical oak native to the islands of Borneo (absent in Brunei), Sumatra, and Western Java, as well as to Peninsular Malaysia.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus ithaburensis Decne.

By Jean Stephan | June 5, 2017

Quercus ithaburensis Decne. is a deciduous oak species native to the East Mediterranean basin.

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×hispanica Lam. - A Non-Hispanic Hybrid

By Roderick Cameron | March 30, 2017

A naturally occurring hybrid, widely adopted by the nursery trade in the form of cultivars, labors under a misnomer: there is precious little Hispanic about Quercus ×hispanica.

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Cultivar Close-up: Quercus ×bebbiana 'Taco'

By Ryan Russell | August 1, 2016

Found in the late 1980s by Guy Sternberg in Springfield, Illinois, this selection was noted early on for its rapid growth rate and strong central leader.

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Cultivar Close-up: Quercus robur 'Timuki'

By Ryan Russell | August 1, 2016

This cultivar was selected by Raimond Cinovskis, from the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences, Salapils, Latvia and was introduced by Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Průhonice, Czech Republic.

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×heterophylla F. Michx.

By Ryan Russell | August 1, 2016

Quercus-x-heterophylla_6-Andreas Gomolka

Named in honor of one of America’s first botanists, John Bartram, Quercus ×heterophylla is known by many as Bartram’s oak.

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Editor's Picks

UK Oak Open Days 2025: Caerhays and Tregrehan

Visits to two gardens with collections of oaks and other...

Stephen Wood | Oct 27, 2025

IOS Service Awards Presented at the 11th IOS Conference

Plaques presented during the Gala Dinner in Oaxaca

Roderick Cameron | Oct 26, 2025

The 11th IOS Oak Conference in Oaxaca

140 participants from 20 countries attended the Triennial...

Nikola Šušić | Oct 25, 2025

Species Spotlight: Quercus vulcanica Boiss. & Heldr. ex Kotschy

An oak endemic to Turkey

Cultivar Close-up: Thread and Lace

By Ryan Russell | February 15, 2018

Read more about Cultivar Close-up: Thread and Lace

Species Spotlight: Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.

By Website Editor | February 14, 2018

Quercus semecarpifolia, commonly known as brown oak, is the main forest-forming evergreen tree species from upper temperate to subalpine regions (2,500–3,300 m) in Western Himalaya.

Read more about Species Spotlight: Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.

Species Spotlight: Quercus hypoleucoides A. Camus

By Roderick Cameron | December 14, 2017

For this Species Spotlight we train our follow spot on an oak that is quite a star of the quercine scene: Quercus hypoleucoides (stage name: silverleaf oak).

Read more about Species Spotlight: Quercus hypoleucoides A. Camus

Cultivar Close-up: Hi-Yo Silver!

By Roderick Cameron | August 19, 2017

Read more about Cultivar Close-up: Hi-Yo Silver!

Species Spotlight: Quercus argentata Korth.

By Joeri Strijk | August 16, 2017

Quercus argentata is an evergreen tropical oak native to the islands of Borneo (absent in Brunei), Sumatra, and Western Java, as well as to Peninsular Malaysia.

Read more about Species Spotlight: Quercus argentata Korth.

Species Spotlight: Quercus ithaburensis Decne.

By Jean Stephan | June 5, 2017

Quercus ithaburensis Decne. is a deciduous oak species native to the East Mediterranean basin.

Read more about Species Spotlight: Quercus ithaburensis Decne.

Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×hispanica Lam. - A Non-Hispanic Hybrid

By Roderick Cameron | March 30, 2017

A naturally occurring hybrid, widely adopted by the nursery trade in the form of cultivars, labors under a misnomer: there is precious little Hispanic about Quercus ×hispanica.

Read more about Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×hispanica Lam. - A Non-Hispanic Hybrid

Cultivar Close-up: Quercus ×bebbiana 'Taco'

By Ryan Russell | August 1, 2016

Found in the late 1980s by Guy Sternberg in Springfield, Illinois, this selection was noted early on for its rapid growth rate and strong central leader.