Fagaceae (beech family) Flashcards
What family is Fagaceae?
Beech family
Fagaceae key features:
- multi-scaled buds clustered at the end of twigs
- fruit partially to fully enclosed by a capsule
In the natural environment, what is the importance of the fagaceae family?
Provides lots of ecosystem services?
- significant amounts of wildlife food
Where are most oak species found? What country?
North America, specifically Mexico
Why should the fact that oaks have been described as promiscuous strike fear into your heart as a plant ID student?
They readily hybridize
What are the two sections of oaks we are considering in this class?
- White oak
- Red oak
Whats the difference between white oak and Northern red oak in terms of seed development?
- white oak seeds take one year to develop and readily germinate once on the ground
- Northern red oak seeds take 18 months to develop and need more than 3 months of below 40 degrees to germinate
American beech is a climax forest tree species, what else is?
Yellow birch, sugar maple, (basswood)
Explain what happened to our native American chestnut when Chinese chestnut was introduced
It brought chestnut blight which spread quickly through the native population of American chestnut
Which oak species was described as being evergreen, rarely found more than 100 km from the ocean, and has highly allergic pollen?
Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)
History of chestnut blight in US
- Discovered in Bronx Zoo in 1904
- Spread quickly and most NA chestnuts died or were dying by the 1960s
- But it continues to play out to this day
How can you assure your northern pin oaks thrive in the landscape?
- Give it a moist/clay soil
What insect feeds on over 300 forest tree species in North America?
Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar)
How are you gonna know if an oak is infected with Oak wilt disease?
- Causes leaves to wilt and die (starts at the top)
- Shows up in summer
What month should you NOT prune oak trees? Why?
April, May, June. Cause it attracts sap beetles which carry oak wilt disease
