Oak Forests

The most conspicuous trees in this Municipality belong to the ‘Quercus’ genera, better known by their known names of encinos or bellotas.  

Throughout the world, the genera Quercus is divided in two subgenera and five sections. Of these, three sections of Quercus are found in Mexico: Quercus (white oaks ), Rubrae (red oaks), and Protobalanus (intermediate oaks). In the western Hemisphere, there are between 200 and 225 species of Quercus, of which around 150 can be found in mexico, and arount 87 in the US and Canada (around te species cross the border and can be found both, in Mexico and the US). In Sonora and Sinaloa there are a little over 40 species of oaks, of which a little over 23 are white, around 17 are red, and probably there is one protobalanus.

By the way, we have an enormous variability in the size of the oak leaves. For instance, in the serrana region of Sonora and Chihuahua, we can find an oak (Quercus tarahumara), with enormous leaves, if we compare them to those of the oaks of this Municipality, as they can reach over a foot in length. We can see an image at the right of those two leaves, side by side.

But returning to our oaks, the white oaks in this Municipality have as their most distinctive mark a white trunk; while those red (or black, as they are known locally), have a dark bark. Besides this, the white oaks have a sweeter tasted fruit. In this Municipality, the most important species are:

 

Bellota prieta (Quercus emoryi), whose leave was chosen for the logo of out Municipality. It is lance shaped, greenish-yellow colored, with shinny surfaces, and have spines at the tip and along the edges of the leave. They also have black trunk.	White Arizona Oak (Quercus arizonica). With oblongated or eliptical leave, slightly lobulated and toothed towards the tip, bluish-green colored; paler, with hairs and with raised skeleton in the underside. The trunk is white.
Blue Mexican oak (Quercus oblongifolia): oblongated leave, toothless, greenish-blue colored, brilliant at the top, and with paler underside.	In higher regions of the Municipality, we can also find other species, among them, the Encino quebracho (Quercus rugosa) which is distinguished by it´s lobulated edges, and risen nervature in the underside.

 

Besides this, we will find smaller quantities of Silverleaf oak (Quercus hypoleucoides), with lance shaped leave, and it´s underside is covered with white hairs that reflect the light, giving it a silver colour.

As I already said, there are other species of oaks, however these are the most common.

Pines

We also have several species or pines. Among them, the Cypress or Tascale (Cupressus arizonica). Also, the alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana), as well as the cedro (Juniperus monosperma). The main difference between these species is in the bark, of which I show different photos:

Cupressus arizonica	Juniperus deppeana	Juniperus monosperma

Besides this, within a few zones within the Municipality, along the tops of the highest mountains, we can also find some pines, among them: pino real (Pinus engelmannii), Pino chino (Pinus leiophylla var. Chihuahuana), as well as ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. Arizonica).

Again, their main difference is in the bark:

 

Pinus engelmannii	Pinus leiophylla	Pinus Ponderosa