Қызыл емен (Quercus coccifera) туралы ақпарат

Species of tree

Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the Ilex section of the genus. It has many synonyms, including Quercus calliprinos. The etymology of the specific name coccifera is related to the production of red cochineal (crimson) dye and derived from Latin coccum which was from Greek κόκκος, the kermes insect. The Latin fera means 'bearer'.

Quercus coccifera is usually a shrub less than high, rarely a small tree, reaching tall (a specimen recorded in Kouf, Libya) and in trunk diameter. It is evergreen, with spiny serrated coriaceous leaves 1.5–4 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. The acorns are 2–3 cm long and 1.5–2 cm in diameter when mature about 18 months after pollination. They are held in a cup covered in dense, elongated, reflexed scales. It blooms from March to May in weather still wet. It is easily propagated by seed, an acorn that lies dormant until germinated by wet weather. This might occur anywhere from late summer to late autumn or early winter (October, November or December) of the following year. The acorns are very bitter, varying greatly in size and shape from one specimen to another and tasting bad. Acorns can germinate even before falling from the plant, but Q. coccifera is also multiplied by root suckers and layering.

Quercus coccifera was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Quercus coccifera is placed in section Ilex.

Quercus calliprinos, the 'Palestinian oak', of the eastern Mediterranean, has been distinguished from the kermes oak by its larger size (more often a tree, up to 18 m) and larger acorns over 2 cm diameter. In Israel it is called the 'common oak' (, ) or the 'Palestine oak'. as of 2023, Plants of the World Online regards it as a synonym of Quercus coccifera.

In Cyprus village of Kalopanagiotis, the tallest tree of this species has grown to a height of 17 meters. The tree is approximately 700 years old.