Plant Focus

Species Spotlight: Quercus stenophylloides Hayata

By Joeri Strijk | June 8, 2020

Quercus stenophylloides is a medium-sized evergreen oak (15–18 m tall) restricted to central and northern Taiwan.

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×vilmoriniana A.Camus

By Roderick Cameron | April 12, 2020

An intercontinental artificial hybrid raised at Arboretum national des Barres.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus hypophaea Hayata

By Joeri Strijk | April 9, 2020

First described by the Japanese botanist Bunzō Hayata in 1913, Quercus hypophaea is a medium to large evergreen oak restricted to the southeastern part of Taiwan.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus tarokoensis Hayata

By Joeri Strijk | February 10, 2020

Quercus tarokoensis (local name 太鲁阁栎 tai lu ge li, "oak of Taroko") is a fairly unknown oak species, restricted to eastern Taiwan.

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Cultivar Close-Up: Quercus 'Maya' and 'Zehra'

By Ryan Russell | February 10, 2020

There are a growing number of unique hybrid selections that feature Quercus rysophylla as one parent.

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×ludoviciana Sarg.

By Roderick Cameron | December 15, 2019

Quercus ×ludoviciana is a naturally occurring oak hybrid from southeastern United States, which has flourished and attracted attention in collections worldwide. Over the years there has been some confusion regarding the hybrid’s parentage, but it is currently accepted to be a cross of Q. phellos (willow oak) and Q. pagoda (cherrybark oak).

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Cultivar Close-Up: Mighty Miniatures

By Ryan Russell | August 9, 2019

Dwarf cultivars can be ideal for a small garden. Here are three "mini oaks".

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×dysophylla Benth.

By Roderick Cameron | June 12, 2019

Originally described as a species, Quercus ×dysophylla is now considered to be of hybrid origin.

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Species Spotlight: Quercus look Kotschy

By Ori Fragman-Sapir | June 1, 2019

Quercus look is one of the least-known oaks of the arid mountains of the Middle East. It grows on Mount Hermon and in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and Lebanon Mountains.

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Hybrid Highlight: Quercus ×morehus Kellogg

By Ryan Russell | February 8, 2019

Quercus ×morehus was initially called Abram’s oak by the author Albert Kellogg in his original 1863 description and was thought to be a unique species at the time (although his description was based on a single specimen). Current taxonomy designates this as a hybrid of Q. kelloggii × wislizeni and is now known as the Oracle oak thanks to Willis Linn Jepson’s book The Silva of California, written in 1910.

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Editor's Picks

Past IOS President Allen Coombes, Curator of Scientific Collections at Puebla University Botanic Garden, discusses leaf variability in Quercus ceirpes (still image from the documentary)

"Oaks: the Backbone of Mexico" – New Documentary Film

A new documentary by Maricela Rodríguez Acosta

Website Editor | Feb 17, 2026

In Search of Quercus miyagii: A Field Report from Okinawa

A rare oak endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan

Elion Jam | Feb 16, 2026

A moss-covered oak (Quercus orocantabrica) in Mata de Albergaria, Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal © Amit Zoran

Amit Zohran's "Oakollective"

Steve Potter reviews a new book that features oaks

Steve Potter | Feb 11, 2026

Quercus canariensis in Cornwall Park, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand, the champion specimen in New Zealand, planted in the 1920s, 27.2 m tall with a trunk diameter of 209 cm (G. Collett pers. comm. 2026) © Gerald Collett

Species Spotlight: Quercus canariensis Willd.

Antonio Lambe shares his views on this threatened oak native to Iberia and North Africa