Kermes oak (Πουρνάρι)

Description:

A very hardy species, it grows well in all types of soils as a shrub, withstanding overgrazing. Kermes oak species grow in dry, sunny slopes. t 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 Quercus coccifera is also multiplied by root suckers and layering. It is a very common Greek shrub/small tree species, and the pictured one was spotted on the side of a mountainous road, in Tzoumerka mountains, Epirus region, Greece.