Quercus cornelius-mulleri
Encyclopedia
Quercus cornelius-mulleri is a species of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
known by the common name Muller oak, or Muller's oak. It was described to science in 1981 when it was segregated from the Quercus dumosa
Quercus dumosa
Quercus dumosa is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. This tree goes by the common name Coastal sage scrub oak.-Distribution:Quercus dumosa is found in Mexico and the U.S. state of California. It is threatened by habitat loss...
complex and found to warrant species status of its own. It was named for the ecologist
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
Cornelius Herman Muller
Cornelius Herman Muller
Cornelius Herman Muller was an American botanist and ecologist who pioneered the study of allelopathy.- Personal life :After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1938 with a Ph.D...
. It is native to southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, oak woodlands, and other habitat in foothills and mountains. It can most easily be observed in Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
and in the woodlands along the western margins of the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
in San Diego County, California
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
.
Description
Quercus cornelius-mulleri is a bushy shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
not exceeding 3 meters in height. It is densely branched, its tangled twigs gray, brown, or yellowish, fuzzy when new and becoming scaly with age.
The evergreen leaves are leathery and thick. They are bicolored: white and quite woolly on the undersides and dull gray- or yellow-green and faintly hairy on the upper surfaces. The wool on the undersides of the leaves is made up of star-shaped leaf hairs that are fused into microscopic plates. The leaf blades are oval with smooth or toothed edges, and measure 2.5 to 3.5 centimeters in length.
The fruit is an acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
with a cap up to 2 centimeters wide covered in light-colored scales and a cylindrical, round-ended nut up to 3 centimeters long.