Quercus geminata

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Quercus geminata
Quer gemi.JPG
Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Species: Q. geminata
Binomial name
Quercus geminata
Small
Quer gemi dist.jpg
Natural range of Quercus geminata from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Sand live oak

Taxonomic notes

Synonym: Quercus virginiana RAB

Quercus is formed from two Celtic words: quer (beautiful) cuez (tree). Geminata is Latin for twin, this refers to the acorns growing in pairs.[1]

Description

A description of Quercus geminata is provided in The Flora of North America.

Distribution

Q. geminata occurs in the lower Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to south-central Florida, along the Gulf to southern Mississippi.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

In the Coastal Plain in Florida and Georgia, Q. geminata has occurred around karst ponds, sand pine scrubs, sand pine-oak scrubs, mixed pine-hardwood forests, live oak woodlands, beach ridges, sand dunes, high river banks, coastal hammocks, an oak hammock adjacent to a marsh, longleaf pine sand ridges, scrub oak dunes,a pine-palmetto hammock in a salt marsh, and open wiregrass-longleaf flatwoods. It has been found in disturbed areas such as planted slash pine stands, shallow disturbed ravines, open pastures, sandy roadsides, and deep sandy soil of a once cultivated field. Soil types include sandy loam, sand and loamy sand. Associated species include Pinus palustris, Quercus laevis, Q. incana, Q. virginiana, Q. hemisphaerica, Vaccinium stamineum, V. arboreum, Serenoa repens, Cyrilla racemiflora, Prunus serotina, Prunus umbellata, Diospyros virginiana, Rhus copallina, Rubus cuneifolius, Licania michauxii, and Warea sessilifolia.[2]

Phenology

Q. geminata has been observed to flower from March to May, in September, and October;[3] and fruits May through November.[2] Q. geminata and Q. virginiana are known to hybridize despite genetic, morphological and ecological niche differentiation and are a good example of adaptive speciation.[4]

Seed dispersal

This species is thought to be dispersed by gravity. [5]

Fire ecology

It can resprout after being top-killed by fire, 80% of the biomass is speculated to be underground.[1] Fire increases the density of grasshoppers found on Q. geminata.[6] Fire does not affect the amount of Stilbosis quadricustatella miners on Q. geminata leaves.[7]

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Quercus geminata at Archbold Biological Station:[8]

Andrenidae: Andrena dimorpha

Apidae: Apis mellifera

Colletidae: Colletes brimleyi

Halictidae: Augochlora pura

Use by animals

Acorns provide food for wildlife such as quail, jays, wood duck, sapsuckers, and wild turkeys.[9] This species is also a promary larval host plant for oak hairstreak (Fixsenia favonius), horace's duskywing (Erynnis haratius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) butterflies.[10]

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, Tom Barnes, Celeste Baylor, Michael Brooks, M.R. Darst, J.P. Davis, D.L. Fichtner, Richard Franz, Angus Gholson, Robert K. Godfrey, D.W. Hall, Bruce Hansen, JoAnn Hansen, Walter S. Judd, Paul Kalaz, Robert Kral, O. Lakela, Sidney McDaniel, C.W. O’Brien, N.A. Reasoner, Ann M. Redmond, W.D. Reese, Cecil R. Slaughter, Cindi Stewart. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Dixie, Duval, Calhoun, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gulf, Hillsborough, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Manatee, Marion, Okaloosa, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Wakulla. Georgia: Baker, Brooks. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 [[1]]Floridata. Accessed: March 7, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, Tom Barnes, Celeste Baylor, Michael Brooks, M.R. Darst, J.P. Davis, D.L. Fichtner, Richard Franz, Angus Gholson, Robert K. Godfrey, D.W. Hall, Bruce Hansen, JoAnn Hansen, Walter S. Judd, Paul Kalaz, Robert Kral, O. Lakela, Sidney McDaniel, C.W. O’Brien, N.A. Reasoner, Ann M. Redmond, W.D. Reese, Cecil R. Slaughter, Cindi Stewart. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Dixie, Duval, Calhoun, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gulf, Hillsborough, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Manatee, Marion, Okaloosa, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Wakulla. Georgia: Baker, Brooks. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
  3. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 13 DEC 2016
  4. Cavender-Bares, J. and A. Pahlich (2009). "Molecular, Morphological, and Ecological Niche Differentiation of Sympatric Sister Oak Species, Quercus virginiana and Q. geminata (Fagaceae)." American Journal of Botany 96(9): 1690-1702
  5. Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.
  6. Kerstyn, A. and P. Stiling (1999). "The Effects of Burn Frequency on the Density of Some Grasshoppers and Leaf Miners in a Florida Sandhill Community." The Florida Entomologist 82(4): 499-505
  7. [[Mopper, S., M. Beck, et al. (1995). "Local Adaptation and Agents of Selection in a Mobile Insect." Evolution 49(5): 810-815
  8. Deyrup, M.A. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowering plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.
  9. [[2]]Accessed: March 7, 2016
  10. [[3]]Accessed: March 7, 2016