Chinkapin oak
| Chinkapin oak | |
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| Mature tree | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Section: | Quercus |
| Species: | Q. muehlenbergii |
| Binomial name | |
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Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm. 1877 |
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| Natural range | |
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Quercus muehlenbergii, the chinkapin oak (or chinquapin oak), is an oak in the white oak group (Quercus sect. Quercus). The species was often called Quercus acuminata in older literature. Quercus muehlenbergii, (its specific epithet often misspelt muhlenbergii) is native to eastern and central North America, ranging from Vermont west to Wisconsin and south to South Carolina, western Florida, New Mexico, and northeastern Mexico from Coahuila south to Hidalgo.
Since its recognition as a different species from the similar-appearing chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), Q. muehlenbergii has generally been regarded as a distinct species; no subspecies or varieties are currently recognized within it, although a few infraspecific variants had been accepted in the past.
The tree's scientific name honors Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753–1815), a Lutheran pastor and amateur botanist in Pennsylvania. In publishing the name Quercus mühlenbergii, German-American botanist George Engelmann mistakenly used an umlaut in spelling Muhlenberg's name, even though Pennsylvania-born Muhlenberg himself did not use an umlaut in his name. Under the modern rules of botanical nomenclature, umlauts are transliterated, with "ü" becoming "ue", hence Engelmann's Quercus mühlenbergii is now presented as Quercus muehlenbergii. In lack of evidence that Engelmann's use of the umlaut was an unintended error, and hence correctable, the muehlenbergii spelling is considered correct, although the more appropriate orthographic variant Quercus muhlenbergii is often seen.
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