Quercus coccifera
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| Kermes Oak | ||||||||||||||||
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| Quercus coccifera L. |
The Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera) is an oak in the turkey oak section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is native to the western Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal east to Greece.
It is a large shrub, rarely a small tree, reaching 1-6 m tall (rarely to 10 m) and 50 cm trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny-serrated leaves 1.5-4 cm long and 1-3 cm broad. The acorns are 2-3 cm long and 1.5-2 cm diameter when mature about 18 months after pollination, held in a cup covered in dense, elongated, reflexed scales.
The Kermes Oak is closely related to the Palestine Oak (Q. calliprinos) of the eastern Mediterranean, with some botanists including the latter in Kermes Oak as a subspecies or variety. The Palestine Oak is distinguished from it by its larger size (more often a tree, up to 18 m) and larger acorns over 2 cm diameter.
[edit] Uses
The Kermes Oak was historically important as the food plant of the Kermes insect Kermes ilicis, from which a red dye was obtained.
