Log in

You are here

Home » Blogs » Harriet Tupper's blog

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
Quercus miyagii acorn and dried leaves
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

Plant Focus

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
Read more

Double Sprouting

By Harriet Tupper | June 27, 2016

Here are two photos of acorns collected at Hackfalls end of April and now germinating. They are Quercus macrocarpa and Q. crassifolia. If you look closely, all the acorns illustrated have two roots and two shoots. This seems to be the Quercus equivalent of having twins. Will these grow into decent trees or will they always be a bit of a problem because of being double? and is this normal?

Quercus crassifolia Quercus macrocarpa