Validation of the Hybrid Name Quercus ×mazei

Roderick Cameron, Tim Buchanan, and Allen J. Coombes

Published May 2026 in International Oaks No. 37: 115–124

Abstract

The object of this paper is to validly publish the hybrid name Quercus ×mazei, already widely applied to the hybrid between Q. gambelii and Q. macrocarpa. It was invalidly published in 2006 by Reinhold Lübbert in Langeneicker Eichen Register / The World Register of Oaks (2006a), lacking a description or diagnosis and a type specimen. The name honors the Canadian botanist Jack Maze, whose work studying the hybridization of these species has contributed to our understanding of oak evolution and phylogeny. It is not necessary to name a hybrid, as it can simply be referred to using the names of the parent species. And yet, many oak hybrids have been named. There are advantages and disadvantages to naming hybrids. Aside from the additional homework required to memorize the parents of a named hybrid, another potential disadvantage is that in areas of high species diversity, there is a higher possibility that a stated parent is incorrect, making the application of a name uncertain. A clear advantage of naming a hybrid is that if any cultivars of it are selected and named, the name will include a hybrid epithet, which is useful information: otherwise, the name would consist only of genus + cultivar epithet. This is the case with Quercus ‘Jack Maze’, a registered cultivar of this hybrid. In addition, the name Q. ×mazei is already widely used. We describe here the characteristics of the hybrid and the parent species, and share information on type specimens.

Keywords

oak hybrids, oak cultivars, Jack Maze

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