A combination of fruit and leaf morphology enables taxonomic classification of the complex Q. robur L. – Q. x rosacea Bechst. – Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. in autochthonous stands in Flanders

Abstract Hybrids between Quercus robur and Q. petraea have been a sought topic of many studies in Europe during the last decades. Here, leaf and fruit morphology were studied in five oak stands where both species occur naturally intermixed. The stands are relicts of old, possibly medieval coppice wood. Twenty two leaf characters and nine fruit characters were assessed on three leaves and three fruits per tree and for thirty trees per stand. A principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a bimodal distribution with restricted overlap along the first component when both leaf and fruit data wer... Mehr ...