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Vasey Shin Oak

The Quercus Pungens is commonly known as Sandpaper Oak, Scrub Oak, as well as Vasey Shin Oak

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Growing Regions

Sandpaper and Vasey shin oaks are widespread throughout the Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos region of Texas. Scattered, isolated populations continue southward into the state of Tamaulipas and proceed westward into Chihuahua, Mexico [10,21,27]. Populations of sandpaper oak extend northward into the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas [16,21] and westward to the mountains of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona [17]. Sandpaper oak has been reported from southern Colorado [4]; however, Harrington [14] was unable to locate any specimens supporting this range extension.

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of sandpaper oak is Quercus pungens Liebm. It is a member of the beech family (Fagaceae) [17]. In addition to the typical variety, there is one recognized variety, Vasey shin oak (Q. p. var. vaseyana [Buckl.] C. H. Muller) [10,27,35]. Sandpaper oak hybrizes with gray oak (Quercus grisea) in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas [37]. This report presents information for both sandpaper and Vasey shin oaks. Information applicable to both is presented under sandpaper oak. When publications specifically used Vasey shin oak, the information is presented under that name.

Sandpaper oak occurs with true mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus)
and desert ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii) as a dominance type in the
chaparral formations in the Guadalupe Mountains, Texas [9,26] and the
montane chaparral of the Chihuahuan Desert region [15].  Sandpaper oak
is a characteristic member of juniper (Juniperus spp.)-oak (Quercus
spp.) communities and intermixes with desert scrub savanna in the
canyons of central and western Texas [8,33].  In Texas sandpaper or
Vasey shin oaks are a dominant or characteristic species in the Mohr
shin oak (Quercus mohriana) series, oneseed juniper (Juniperus
monosperma) series, and sandpaper oak-true mountain-mahogany series [33].
Sandpaper or Vasey shin oaks are dominant species in the following
publications:

(1) Vegetation and community types of the Chihuahuan Desert [15]
(2) Plant communities of Texas (Series level) [33].

Several species that were not previously included in Distribution and
Occurrence information but occur with sandpaper oak are cane cholla
(Opuntia imbricata), purplefruited pricklypear (O. phaecantha), Mexican
buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa), Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), hairy
tridens (Erioneuron pilosum), and plateau oak (Quercus fusiformis)
[7,8,9,22].

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Pavek, Diane S. 1993. Quercus pungens. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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