Quercus emoryi

<h2 id="description">Description</h2>

Quercus emoryi is a wintergreen tree in the <a href="/facts/Red_oak/or49dFSM">red oak</a> group, retaining its leaves throughout the winter until new leaves are produced in spring. It is a large <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrub</a> or small <a href="/facts/Tree/HVVn3srN">tree</a> from 5–17 metres (16–56 feet) tall. The <a href="/facts/Leaves/1m6wCNTg">leaves</a> are 3–6 centimetres (1–2+1⁄2 inches) long, simple or wavy-toothed, leathery, dark green above, paler below. The <a href="/facts/Acorn/zvf2emQr">acorns</a> are 1.5–2 cm (5⁄8–3⁄4 in) long, blackish-brown, and mature in 6–8 months from pollination; the kernel is sweet, and is an important food for people and for certain other <a href="/facts/Mammal/phSwTzBo">mammals</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>
The seeds of this tree are called chich’il in <a href="/facts/Western_Apache_people/Ax5fNSF9">Ndee</a>, wi-yo:thi or toa in <a href="/facts/O%E2%80%99odham/Rp5N55Dx">O’odham</a>, bellotas in Spanish, and <a href="/facts/Acorn/zvf2emQr">acorns</a> in English.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> The English and Latin botanical names for this tree come from the name of a <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> surveyor, Lieutenant <a href="/facts/William_Hemsley_Emory/xI24gJa5">William Hemsley Emory</a>, who surveyed the area that had become known as West-Texas in the 1840s.

<h2 id="ecology">Ecology</h2>
The Emory acorn is sweet and is an important food for livestock, deer, squirrels, cliff chipmunks (Tamnias dorsalis), and <a href="/facts/Bird/RJF6zwLP">birds</a> such as quail and wild turkeys.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> Deer and livestock also browse the foliage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>

<h2 id="uses">Uses</h2>
Native American groups have eaten Emory acorns traditionally, ceremonially, and in contemporary cuisine. The acorns are most commonly ground into meal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
Emory oak health and habitat have been challenged in 2020, including in Oak Flat, Arizona in the Tonto National Forest by the Resolution Copper mining company's large copper mine.

According to the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture/3PK2rx7C">United States Department of Agriculture</a>:Emory oak acorns are a critically important resource for <a href="/facts/Western_Apache_people/Ax5fNSF9">Western Apache Tribal Nation</a>, both as a food source and due to its cultural and ceremonial uses. For decades, Apache elders watched in frustration as groves produced less acorn yield and declined in overall health. The ... Emory oak Collaborative Tribal Restoration Initiative is restor[ing] and protect[ing] Emory oak stands ... to ensure the long-term persistence of Emory oak. Habitat loss, fire suppression, livestock grazing, groundwater reductions, species competition and <a href="/facts/Climate_change/rEN4BDE7">climate change</a> have all impacted the Emory oak population. This program uses tribal <a href="/facts/Traditional_ecological_knowledge/oXEealxK">traditional ecological knowledge</a> to guide goals and activities.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quercus emoryi.

<ul><li><a href="https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=QUEM">United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: Quercus emoryi</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter <a href="http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3234&taxauthid=1" target="_blank">http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3234&taxauthid=1</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Quercus emoryi". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. <a href="http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Quercus%20emoryi.png" target="_blank">http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Quercus%20emoryi.png</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus emoryi". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501028" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501028</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Savoring Bellotas in Apache Acorn Stew" (blog post, September 30, 2019), in Savor the Southwest: Forage, Raise, Cook <a href="https://savorthesouthwest.blog/tag/apache-nation/" target="_blank">https://savorthesouthwest.blog/tag/apache-nation/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus emoryi". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501028" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501028</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Little, Elbert L. (1994) [1980]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 397. ISBN 0394507614. <a href="0394507614" target="_blank">0394507614</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. pp. 443–44. <a href="/wiki/Donald_C._Peattie" target="_blank">/wiki/Donald_C._Peattie</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 383. ISBN 0-394-73127-1. <a href="0-394-73127-1" target="_blank">0-394-73127-1</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">'Going Green' Is Really 'Going Native': Western Apache Chef Nephi Craig, NPR's Code Switch, April 4, 2016, Hanna Choi <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/04/04/470071043/going-green-is-really-going-native-western-apache-chef-nephi-craig" target="_blank">https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/04/04/470071043/going-green-is-really-going-native-western-apache-chef-nephi-craig</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">'Gather': Food Sovereignty Stories (Film) <a href="https://gather.film/stories/" target="_blank">https://gather.film/stories/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. pp. 443–44. <a href="/wiki/Donald_C._Peattie" target="_blank">/wiki/Donald_C._Peattie</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Tribal restoration initiative seeks to protect, restore Emory oak", November 2, 2020 <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/excel/tribal-restoration-initiative-seeks-protect-restore-emory-oak" target="_blank">https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/excel/tribal-restoration-initiative-seeks-protect-restore-emory-oak</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Quercus emoryi open-in-new

Quercus emoryi