Sandpaper Oak, Pungent oak
Quercus pungens
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
Quercus pungens is an evergreen Shrub growing to 2 m (6ft 7in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 2
Where it is found
On dry limestone or igneous slopes, usually in oak, pinyon, and juniper woodlands, chaparral, and sometimes descending into desert vegetation at elevations of 800 - 2000 metres.
South-western N. America - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Seed - cooked. The seed is small, up to 1cm long. Up to 22mm according to another report. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. A gum obtained from the bark can be used for chewing.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Coffee: the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee.
Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.
Medicine
Rating: 2
Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Other
Rating: 2
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff. A tan-coloured dye is obtained from the bark.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.
How it is grown
Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Propagating it: Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth:
Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist