Editor's Picks
Plant Focus
Michael Avishai
Published May 2015 in International Oaks No. 26: 37–42.
Abstract
Oaks are a common and often dominating genus of many plant communities, and are often notoriously difficult to identify correctly. They have “fooled” many excellent botanists. Therefore the true identity and taxonomic status of many species is still doubtful. Given the rapid destruction of many indigenous oak woodlands in the Near East, this creates the danger of an important element of the arboreal biodiversity of this part of the world being lost forever. Quercus mannifera described by John Lindley in 1840 is a good example of this.
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