Quercus georgiana M. A. Curtis  

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Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions

Quercus georgianais considered Vulnerable (G3) by NatureServe, and is a focus of ongoing research and ex situconservation efforts.

Kramer and Pence (2012) highlighted the successful in vitropropagation ofQ. georgianaand the potential of cryopreservation as a conservation option for recalcitrant species, which cannot be stored in seed banks, such as oaks.

A recent study found that living collections of Georgia Oak exist in 30 institutions around the world, with 50% of accessions from known wild provenance (Toppila 2012). However, these accessions were found to be collected from only two subpopulations (Stone Mountain and Pine Mountain), indicating that future efforts should focus on collecting from other, more distant subpopulations in order to capture genetic diversity from across the species' range.

A research project is currently underway by scientists at The Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanic Garden to further examine the genetic diversity of Q. georgiana trees, both in its natural stands and those in cultivated collections, which will help inform and guide future conservation efforts.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/34011

Quercus georgiana:

Quercus georgiana, the Georgia oak or Stone Mountain oak, is a rare deciduous oak. It is native to the southeastern United States, with a very restricted range in the southern Appalachian Mountains and outlying monadnocks, mainly in northern Georgia, but also very locally in portions of Alabama and South Carolina. It grows on dry granite and sandstone outcrops of mountain slopes at 50–500 m altitude.

It is a small tree, often shrubby, growing to 8–15 m (25–50 feet) tall. The shiny green leaves are 4–13 cm (2-5 inches) long and 2–9 cm wide, with a 0.6-2.3 cm petiole, and five irregular, pointed, bristle-tipped lobes; they are glabrous (hairless), except for small but conspicuous tufts of hairs in the vein axils on the underside. The leaves turn dark red to brown in the autumn, stay on the tree throughout the winter, and fall as the new leaves bud in the spring. The acorns are round, 9–14 mm long, maturing about 18 months after pollination.

The Georgia oak is classified in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. The tree was first discovered in 1849 at Stone Mountain, Georgia, where several specimens grow along the popular walk-up trail. In the wild they are often shrub-like.

It is occasionally cultivated as a specimen or garden tree in USDA plant hardiness zones 5-8. Besides landscape horticulture, the Georgia oak has no commercial uses.

References[edit]

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorWikipedia
Sourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quercus_georgiana&oldid=640203955

Comments:

Quercus georgiana reportedly hybridizes with Q . marilandica (= Q . × smallii Trelease) and Q . nigra , although D. M. Hunt (1989) has questioned the validity of the former report.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501038

Range Description:

Georgia Oak (Quercus georgiana) is restricted to isolated granite outcrops and flat-rocks in the Piedmont Plateau of the southeastern United States (Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, historically). Even within this narrow habitat, however, this species is uncommon, considered abundant at a few localities only. This species' extent of occurrence (EOO) is between16,570 km2 and 21,600 km2, and its area of occupancy (AOO) is believed to be about 72 km2, possibly up to 272 km2(well within the threshold for listing as Endangered under AOO).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/34011

Distribution:

Ala., Ga., S.C.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501038

Description:

Trees , deciduous, to 15 m. Bark gray to light brown, scaly. Twigs deep red, 1-2 mm diam., glabrous. Terminal buds red-brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5-5 mm, glabrous or scales somewhat ciliate. Leaves: petiole 6-23 mm, glabrous or with a few persistent hairs. Leaf blade broadly ovate to elliptic or obovate, 40-130 × 20-90 mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins with 3-5(-7) oblong lobes and up to 10 awns, apex acute; surfaces abaxially glabrous except for conspicuous axillary tufts of tomentum, veins raised, adaxially planar, glabrous. Acorns biennial; cup thin, saucer-shaped, 4-6 mm high × 9-14 mm wide, covering 1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface glabrous or with a few hairs around scar, scale tips appressed, acute; nut globose or ovoid, 9-14 × 9-14 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 4-7.5 mm.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501038

Isotype for Quercus georgiana M.A. Curtis
Catalog Number: US 2216352
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Card file verified by examination of alleged type specimen
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): H. Ravenel
Locality: Stone Mountain., De Kalb, Georgia, United States, North America

  • Isotype: Curtis, M. A. 1849. Amer. J. Sci. ser. 2. 7: 408.
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorThis image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws.
Sourcehttp://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2158677

Habitat and Ecology:

Habitat and Ecology

Quercus georgiana is a small, often multi-stemmed tree, typically growing eight to 15 metres tall. This speciesis restricted to intermittent granite outcrops and shallow soils overlying granite in the Piedmont Plateau. These discontinuous pockets of soil, sometimes referred to as "soil islands," have been reported to have a soil depth of only 50-100 cm at Arabia Mountain. Georgia Oak is associated with the oak-pine forests of dry slopes of the southeastern US. Its acorns provide an important food source for numerous bird and mammal species, while Luna Moth and Red-spotted Purple larvae feed on its leaves.

Systems

  • Terrestrial
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorInternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Sourcehttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/34011

Comments: Granite outcrops; dry slopes over granite (Weakely 2005).

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Rights holder/AuthorNatureServe
Sourcehttp://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Quercus+georgiana

Habitat:

Granitic outcrops and dry slopes and knolls; 50-500m.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthoreFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden
Sourcehttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501038
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith