Quercus calophylla is a Mesoamerican species of oak tree. It is native to mountain forests of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It has incorrectly been known as Quercus candicans.
Common names include ahuahuaxtl, ahuamextli, encino blanco, encino cenizo, encino de agua, encino papatla, huilocualoni, popocamay, tzacui blanco, and tzaquioco.
Description It is a deciduous tree growing tall with a trunk as much as in diameter. The leaves are stiff and leathery, rigid, up to long, egg-shaped with numerous pointed teeth along the edges.
Taxonomy In 2018, it was found that the type specimen of Quercus candicans was actually a misidentified Roldana, a plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). The correct name of this species is Quercus calophylla. Forms placed in Quercus candicans by Trelease do belong here.
Habitat and range Quercus calophylla grows in wet montane forests, typically cloud forests but also humid oak forests and pine–oak forests, from . It prefers calcareous soils.Romero Rangel, S., E. C. Rojas Zenteno & M. L. Aguilar Enríquez. 2002. El género Quercus (Fagaceae) en el estado de México. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89(4): 551–593 in Spanish, with line drawings of each speciesMcVaugh, R. 1974. Flora Novo-Galiciana: Fagaceae. Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 12(1,3): 1–93Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1952. Fagaceae. In Flora of Guatemala - Part III. Fieldiana, Botany 24(3): 369–396 Oaks of the World, entry "Quercus candicans"
Its range includes the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Nayarit states, the Sierra Madre Oriental of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz, The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Mexico City, and Mexico State, the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca of Oaxaca, the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of Chiapas, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Conservation Quercus calophylla has been affected by habitat loss from extensive deforestation across most of its range. Its conservation status is Least Concern. Strong regeneration has been observed at the edges of disturbed areas with intermediate shade.
References
External links photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Michoacán in 1891