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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Quercus mohriana (Mohr oak)
Anderson, Wynn

Quercus mohriana

Quercus mohriana Buckley ex Rydb.

Mohr Oak, Shin Oak, Scrub Oak

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: QUMO

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Thicket-forming shrub or sometimes small tree with rounded crown, usually evergreen.

GROWTH FORM: evergreen or deciduous shrub, rhizomatous and usually forming thickets, occasionally forms a small tree to 20 feet (6.1 m) with irregular spreading crown. BARK: thick gray bark with rough scaly ridges. TWIGS and BUDS: densely pubescent grayish-brown twigs, blunt ovoid buds with light brown to chestnut pubescent scales. LEAVES: short petiole to 1⁄4 inch (6 mm); thick and leathery oblong to elliptical, 1 1⁄8 - 3 inches (29 - 76 mm) long, 3⁄4 - 1 1⁄4 inches (19 - 32 mm) wide, rounded base, apex rounded or acute, margin usually entire and wavy, may have a few teeth, shiny dark green above, grayish pubescence beneath with prominent raised secondary veins.

Named for botanist, Charles Mohr, who wrote about the flora of Alabama. The names Shin Oak and "shinnery" refer to the dense thickets, scarcely knee-high, of dwarf evergreen oaks of this and related species on uplands of western Texas and other areas of southwestern North America.

 

From the Image Gallery

9 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Retention: Deciduous , Evergreen
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Elliptic , Oblong
Leaf Venation: Pinnate
Leaf Margin: Entire
Leaf Apex: Acute
Leaf Base: Rounded
Breeding System: Flowers Unisexual , Monoecious
Inflorescence: Catkin
Fruit Type: Nut
Size Notes: Up to about 20 feet tall, often shorter.
Leaf: Leaves shiny dark green above, grayish pubescence beneath with prominent raised secondary veins.
Fruit: Acorns annual; 1 - 2 acorns produced on a peduncle to 5⁄8 inch (16 mm); deep cup with pubescent scales, and enclosing 1⁄2 of nut; oval to broadly elliptical, brown nut to 5⁄8 inch (16 mm) in length.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May

Distribution

USA: NM , OK , TX
Native Distribution: Oklahoma and New Mexico south to Texas and northern Mexico (Coahuila and Nuevo Leon).
Native Habitat: Limestone soils in the Lower Sonoran Life Zone, at elevations between 2000 - 4000 feet (610 - 1219 m).

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Caliche type, Sandy, Sandy Loam, Limestone-based, Medium Loam

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Fire Resistant, Accent tree or shrub
Use Wildlife: Nesting site, Cover, Substrate-insectivorous birds, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals. Mohr oak provides good habitat for wildlife.
Interesting Foliage: yes

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX

Bibliography

Bibref 766 - Dale Groom's Texas Gardening Guide (2002) Groom, D.
Bibref 1134 - Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (2003) Stein, John D. and Denise Binion
Bibref 298 - Field Guide to Texas Trees (1999) Simpson, B.J.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 291 - Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Bibref 297 - Trees of Central Texas (1984) Vines, Robert A.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Quercus mohriana in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Quercus mohriana in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Quercus mohriana

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-10-11
Research By: TWC Staff

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