abstract

The taxonomy of oaks in Lebanon relies on the works of Mouterde (1966). Since half a centrury, there were no taxonomic revision for these species, namely for Quercus pinnatifida Gmelin, which is no more in use worldwide after successive nomenclature revisions. This name was replaced by Quercus pubescens Willd. subsp. pubescens which has never been recorded in Lebanon. However, Quercus kotschyana O. Schwarz is cited as an endemic species of Lebanon, but it was never mentioned by Mouterde works, nor by the literature that followed (i.e. Abi Saleh, 1976, 1996; Menitsky, 2005; Tohme & Tohme, 2014). This work aims at revealing the taxonomy of an endemic oak of Lebanon, and clarify the existing confusion in the nomenclature of species. The comparison of collected plant material from different sites, with the holotype of Quercus kotschyana, and the botanical description and drawings found in the literature, allowed us to conclude that Quercus pinnatifida Gmel. was wrongly attributed to the taxon found in Lebanon, and that the actual present species is Quercus kotschyana O. Schwarz.

keywords

Lebanon, Quercus kotschyana, Quercus pubescens, Quercus pinnatifida, taxonomy