Quercus alnifolia
species of plant
Quercus alnifolia, commonly known as the golden oak, is an evergreen oak species of Cyprus. Its common English name refers to the golden coloured lower surface of its leaves. Quercus alnifolia belongs to the endemic flora of the island and it is confined to the igneous geological complex of the Troodos Mountains. In February 2006, the parliament of Cyprus selected the golden oak to be the country's national tree.
Description
The golden oak is a much branched evergreen shrub or small tree up to 10 m (33 ft) high. Due to its short stature (in relation to other oaks) it is sometimes referred to as the dwarf oak.
Its leaves are simple, obovate to suborbicular, 1.5–8 cm (0.59–3.15 in) long, 1–7 cm (0.39–2.76 in) wide, glabrous and shining dark green above and densely golden or brownish tomentose below, with serrate margins and raised nervation. The petioles are strong, 6–11 mm (0.24–0.43 in) long and pilose. The flowers are unisexual; the male catkins are greenish-yellow forming spreading or pendulous clusters at the tips of the branches; the female flowers are axillary, solitary or in groups of two to three. The acorns are narrowly obovate or subcylindrical, usually tapering towards the base, 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long and 0.8–1.2 cm (0.31–0.47 in) wide, with a woody endocarp and cupule with strongly recurved scales.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Quercus alnifolia” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Quercus, alnifolia and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1193791. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006.
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This entry incorporates text from “Quercus alnifolia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.