Quercus calliprinos
# Quercus calliprinos

Quercus calliprinos is an oak classified as part of the Ilex section of the genus growing in the Mediterranean climate zone, mainly on limestone, in mid-elevations, often dominating the flora, alongside terebinths (Pistacia terebinthus)..

It is native to eastern Mediterranean region and southwest Asia, and grows in the Levant, North Africa to Anatolia and further eastwards. In Israel it is called the common oak (Hebrew: אלון מצוי, IPA: [a'lon ma'tsuj]) or the Palestine oak.

Quercus calliprinos was described by Webb in 1838. The name calliprinos derives from Ancient Greek, and means ‘beautiful oak’: κάλλος (kallos) = beauty + πρῖνος (prinos) a name for Holm Oak (Q. ilex). The common name Sindian Oak derives from the local Palestinian name (Stapf 1920).

## Description

Quercus calliprinos is a small to medium-sized tree or large shrub reaching 5–18 metres (16–59 feet) tall (often only 1–3 m tall where heavily browsed by goats) and 1 m in trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny-serrated leaves 3–5 centimetres (1+1⁄4–2 inches) long and 1.5–3 cm broad. The acorns are 3–4 cm long and 2–3 cm diameter when mature (about 18 months after pollination), held in a cup covered in dense, elongated, reflexed scales.

Quercus calliprinos is closely related to the Kermes oak (Q. coccifera) of the western Mediterranean, and is treated as a subspecies or variety of it by some botanists. The Kermes oak is distinguished from it by its smaller size (usually shrubby, not over 10 m or 33 ft) and smaller acorns less than 2 cm diameter.

