Quercus crispipilis

Quercus crispipilis is a species of oak native to Chiapas state in southern Mexico and to Guatemala.

Quercus crispipilis
Quercus crispipilis in Hackfalls Arboretum
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Quercus
Subgenus:	Quercus subg. Quercus
Section:	Quercus sect. Lobatae
Species:	Q. crispipilis
Binomial name
Quercus crispipilis Trel.
Synonyms[2]
Quercus aristigera Trel. Quercus brachystachys f. caerulea Trel. Quercus brachystachys f. venulosa Trel. Quercus cerifera Trel. Quercus chichavacana Trel. Quercus cinnamomea Trel. Quercus pannosifolia C.H.Mull. Quercus skutchii Trel.

It is placed in Quercus section Lobatae.^[3]

Description

Quercus crispipilis is a medium-sized tree which grows up to 27 meters tall, and trunk of 30 to 60 cm in diameter at maturity.^[1]

Habitat and range

Quercus crispipilis is generally found in cloud forests, and also in humid oak forests and oak–pine forests, between from 750 to 2,700 meters elevation. It is found in closed-canopy forests, and regenerates well in forest clearings and abandoned fields.^[1]

It is native to the Chiapas Highlands of central Chiapas, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Chiapas and Guatemala, and the Guatemalan Highlands of central Guatemala.^[1]

Conservation and threats

People of the highland forests of Chiapas and Guatemala have engaged in shifting cultivation for centuries. Q. crispipilis regenerates faster in cleared areas than in mature forests, and naturally resettles cleared areas once they have been abandoned. In more recent times, its highland habitat has been converted to intensive and continued use as pasture and agriculture, leading to habitat loss and fragmentation.^[1]

The species is also threatened by climate change. It is estimated that the tree may lose 13.1% to 48.4% of its suitable habitat by 2050, depending on the climate change scenario.^[1]