The Iberian holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) is an evergreen oak native to the western Mediterranean region, with the majority of the population in the Iberian Peninsula and minor populations in Northwest Africa. The species was first described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785. It is the typical species of the Iberian dehesa or montado, where its sweet-astringent acorns are a source of food for livestock, particularly the Iberian pig. Its acorns have also been used for human nourishment since the Neolithic era (7,000 BC). It is placed in section Ilex. Some authors described it as a subspecies of Quercus ilex.
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Is it poisonous?
We have no record of Sweet acorn oak being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Fagales
- Family
- Fagaceae
- Genus
- Quercus
- Species
- Quercus rotundifolia
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