Quercus 1323 



^ to |- in. long, with ciliate scales. Leaves falling late in the season, coriaceous, 

 variable in shape often on the same branch, averaging 3 in, long, i|- in. broad, 

 obovate-oblong, usually rounded at the apex, unequal and cuneate or rounded at the 

 base ; lateral nerves seven to nine pairs ; margin wrinkled, revolute, with irregular, 

 mucronate, inflexed teeth ; upper surface dark green, shining, glabrescent, except 

 on the midrib, which remains pubescent ; lower surface covered with a dense greyish 

 tomentum ; petiole tomentose, | in. long. 



Fruit ripening in the first year, two or three together on a tomentose peduncle ; 

 acorn ellipsoid, | in. long, glabrous, enclosed to a variable height in a hemispherical 

 or urceolate cup, narrowed at the orifice, and covered with appressed tomentose 

 scales. 



No species of oak is so variable as Q. lusitanica ; and after examination of the 

 abundant Spanish and Portuguese material in herbaria, and of the specimens 

 collected by Elwes at Cintra in Portugal, and a fine series of variations obtained by 

 him from Padre Tavares, I am unable to group the numerous forms into distinct 

 varieties. Coutinho, in his valuable paper on the oaks of Portugal, states that the 

 different forms of leaves graduate into each other, and are sometimes found on the 

 same tree, and even on the same branch. The variations are mainly in the size, 

 shape, and texture of the leaves, which have regular or irregular teeth, with or 

 without a mucro at their apex. The dense grey tomentum on the under surface of 

 the leaf and on the branchlets are constant characters, and serve to distinguish this 

 species from the closely allied Q. lanuginosa, which has always deep and rounded 

 lobes, not present in Q. lusitanica. The variation in some instances is due to the 

 influence of soil, climate, and altitude ; but in other cases is perhaps dependent on 

 hybridisation with the other species of oak in the same region. 



The principal forms are as follows : — 



1. Var. Broteri, Coutinho. This is perhaps the typical form, and is described 

 above, from specimens gathered from large trees near Cintra by Elwes. This 

 usually is a large tree, making summer shoots, and characterised by large leaves, 

 with rather irregular teeth. 



2. Max. faginea, Boissier, Voy. Bot. Espagne, ii. 575 (1839-45). 



Quercus faginea, Lamarck, Encyc. i. 725 (1783). 



Quercus valenima, Cavanilles, Ic. Fl. Hisp. ii. 25, t. 129 (1793). 



Usually a shrub. Leaves thin in texture, obovate or oblong, i^ to 2 in. long, 

 f to i|- in. wide, regularly toothed, with sharp mucros. 



A common form, often a tree, is intermediate between var. faginea and var. 

 Broteri, the leaves (Plate 335, Fig. 25) being small like the former, coriaceous like 

 the latter ; and the teeth, though regular, are without mucros. 



3. Var. alpestris, Coutinho. 



Quercus alpestris, Boissier, Elenchus, 83 (1838), and Voy. Bot. Esfagne, ii. 576, pi. 164 

 (1839-45)- 

 Leaves coriaceous, oblong, 2 to 3 in. long, nearly entire, the mucronate teeth 

 being few, irregular, and inconspicuous. This occurs at high altitudes, and is 

 oftener a shrub than a tree. 



