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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
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
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An Oakly Invitation

By Robert McCartney | June 15, 2018
A mile-long plantation of oaks along the railway tracks at Aiken © Roderick Cameron

Those coming to the IOS Conference in Davis, California in October will see one of the best oak collections in the U.S. We invite you to include in your travel plans a visit to a different world, the Southeastern U.S.! 

Growing in Aiken, South Carolina you can see what is possibly the most diverse collection of ex-situ and in-situ oak species in the U.S. It appears that there will be a great acorn crop on most oaks including many rare species. Aiken is near Augusta, Georgia and is one hour from Columbia, South Carolina and about three hours from Atlanta, Georgia. Y'all come! Contact Bob McCartney at woodland@scbn.net

For more on Aiken and its Citywide Arboretum and oak collection, click on the following links:

Oaks in Aiken - Oak Open Days, Nov 2013, Newsletter Report
Aiken Oak and Horticultural Tour - OOD, Nov 2013, Journal Report
Bob McCartney - Member Profile
Aiken, South Carolina, Oak City, USA! - International Oaks No. 13