Trees or shrubs , evergreen, to 15 m. Bark dark brown to black, deeply fissured. Twigs dark reddish brown, 1-3 mm diam., pubescent. Terminal buds reddish brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5-6.5 mm, glabrous except for tuft of hairs at apex, occasionally hairy on distal 1/2. Leaves: petiole 3-7(-10) mm, pubescent. Leaf blade ovate to narrowly oblong to obovate, planar, 28-95 × 15-45 mm, base cordate, margins entire or spinose, with up to 13 awns, apex blunt to acute; surfaces abaxially glabrous except for tuft of tomentum on each side of midrib at base of blade, rarely completely glabrous, adaxially not rugous, glabrous or with a few hairs along midrib. Acorns annual; cup cup-shaped, 5-7.5 mm high × 7-12 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/2 nut, outer surface pubescent to sparsely puberulent, inner surface pubescent to floccose, scale tips appressed, blunt; nut ellipsoid to oblong, 10-18 × 6-10 mm, glabrous to puberulent, especially at apex, scar diam. 3-5.5 mm.

Flowering spring. Foothills and slopes; 1000-2200 m; Ariz., N.Mex., Tex.; n Mexico.

Quercus emoryi reportedly hybridizes with Q . graciliformis (= Q . × tharpii C. H. Muller).

Plant: tree or shrub; momoecious; to ca. 10 m high, the bark dark blackish-gray; young twigs usually densely woolly during first year, dark reddish-brown beneath hairs, the older twigs glabrescent, gray, remaining smooth

Leaves: unlobed, lanceolate, elliptic, oblanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 2-6 cm long, 1-2.3 cm wide, 1.8-3 times as long as wide, woolly when young, subglabrous at maturity except for a tuft of tomentum at the base of the blade below, persisting about 1 year, deciduous in spring; apex acute; base cordate to rounded, oblique, or subtruncate; petiole 3-7 mm long, woolly; midvein straight to sinuate, longitudinally striate, nearly flat to raised above, prominent below; lateral veins ca. 6-9 pairs, faint to moderately prominent; secondary veins very weak to indistinct; blade coriaceous, shiny green on both surfaces; margin entire or more commonly sinuate with 1-3(-7) small, spinosely tipped teeth

INFLORESCENCE: staminate flowers in aments; pistillate flowers solitary or in groups on spikes, these sometimes abbreviated, each pistillate flower with a separate involucre

Flowers: mostly wind-pollinated, unisexual, the perianth much reduced or absent; staminate flowers in heads or aments, the perianth greenish, the stamens ca. 4; pistillate flowers usually tricarpellate, solitary or in clusters of about 3 or more, subtended individually or in groups by an involucre that develops into a woody cupule enclosing or subtending the mature fruit(s)

Fruit: ACORNS 1.5-1.8 cm long; cap 5-6 mm long, 7-8 mm wide, woolly within; scales of cap papery, not much thickened basally; nut-shell woolly within

Misc: Chaparral, pinyon-juniper, oak-woodlands; 1000-2100 m (3400-7000 ft); Apr-May (fr. Aug-Oct)

REFERENCES: Landrum, Leslie R. Fagaceae. 1994. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 203-214

Common Name: Emory oak

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Tree

General: Trees reaching 10 m tall, bark dark blackish-gray, young twigs usually densely woolly during first year, dark reddish-brown beneath hairs, the older twigs glabrescent, gray, remaining smooth.

Leaves: Unlobed, lanceolate, elliptic, oblanceolate to oblong lanceolate, 2-6 cm long, 1-2.3 cm wide, 1.8-3 times as long as wide, woolly when young, subglabrous at maturity except for a tuft of tomentum at the base of the blade below, persisting for one year, spring deciduous; acute apex, base cordate to oblique, on petiole 3-7 mm, margin entire to sinuate, lustrous green, with 1-3 teeth.

Flowers: Staminate aments with reduced perianth parts, 4-12 stamens; pistillate flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-3; inferior ovary; flowers April-May.

Fruits: Acorns 1.5-1.8 cm long, cap 5-6 mm long, 7-8 mm wide, woolly within, scales of cap papery.

Ecology: Chaparral, pi-on-juniper, and oak woodlands; 3,500-7,000 ft (1067-2134 m).

Distribution: AZ, s NM, s TX; south to c MEX.

Notes: Distinctive in the landscape as a tree with lustrous green foliage, although the leaves are slightly pale beneath, this is one of the more widespread oaks in the region. Leaves are shiny on both surfaces usually hairless at maturity and entire or with 2-4 small teeth.

Ethnobotany: The acorns were eaten whole, raw or ground, boiled, used in stews, and also stored for future use. One of the few southwestern oak acorns that can be eaten without leaching tannins.

Etymology: Quercus is the classical Latin word for oak, thought to be derived from Celtic quer, fine, and cuez, tree, while emoryi is named for Major William Hemsley Emory (1811-1887) who led the Mexican Boundary Survey.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015