{{Short description|Species of shrub}} {{speciesbox | name = Dwarf live oak | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 21 November 2022">{{cite iucn |author=Wenzell, K. |author2=Kenny, L. |date=2015 |title=''Quercus minima'' |volume=2015 |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/194198/171683043 |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name = "NatureServe" /> | image = Dwarf-Live-Oak.jpg | genus = Quercus | display_parents = 3 | parent = Quercus sect. Virentes | species = minima | authority = (Sarg.) Small | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{ThePlantList |id=kew-173948 |taxon=Quercus minima |authority=(Sarg.) Small}}</ref> | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |''Quercus virens'' var. ''dentata'' <small>Chapm.</small><ref>{{cite journal |last=Small |first=John Kunkel |date=1897 |title=Shrubs and Trees of the Southern States.—II. |periodical=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |volume=24 |issue=9 |page=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/715915 438]}}</ref> |''Quercus virginiana'' var. ''minima'' <small>Sarg.</small> |''Quercus andromeda'' f. ''nana'' <small>Trel.</small> |''Quercus geminata'' var. ''succulenta'' <small>(Small) Trel.</small> |''Quercus minima'' f. ''pygmaea'' <small>(Sarg.) Trel.</small> |''Quercus minima'' var. ''pygmaea'' <small>(Sarg.) A.Camus</small> |''Quercus minima'' f. ''reasoneri'' <small>Trel.</small> |''Quercus pygmaea'' <small>(Sarg.) Ashe </small> |''Quercus succulenta'' <small>Small</small> |''Quercus virginiana'' subsp. ''dentata'' <small>(Chapm.) A.E.Murray</small> |''Quercus virginiana'' var. ''dentata'' <small>(Chapm.) Sarg.</small> |''Quercus virginiana'' var. ''pygmaea'' <small>Sarg.</small> }} }}
'''''Quercus minima''''', the '''dwarf live oak''' or '''minimal oak''', is a North American species of shrubs in the beech family. It is native to the southeastern United States. It is placed in the southern live oaks section of the genus ''Quercus'' (section ''Virentes'').<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Denk |first1=Thomas |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=Manos |first3=Paul S. |last4=Deng |first4=Min |last5=Hipp |first5=Andrew L. |date=2017 |title=Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks |website=figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.5547622.v1 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Appendix_2_1_________An_updated_infrageneric_classification_of_the_oaks/5547622/1 |access-date=2023-02-18 |format=xls |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>
==Description== thumb|''Quercus minima'' leaves|left ''Quercus minima'' is an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub rarely more than {{Convert|2|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall, reproducing by seed and also by means of underground rhizomes. It commonly forms extensive cloned colonies with many stems, many of them unbranched. The leaves are alternate, up to {{Convert|12|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long, and toothless or with irregular teeth or lobes. The lobes, when present, are usually spine-tipped. The leaves are retained through the winter, dropping just before or as new growth resumes in late winter or early spring.<ref name=FNA/>
==Distribution and habitat== ''Quercus minima'' is native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, primarily in Florida but extending from there to the Carolinas and eastern Louisiana.<ref>{{BONAP |genus=Quercus |species=minima |date=2014}}</ref> There are reports of the species also growing in Texas, but these populations appear to belong to other taxa.<ref name=FNA>{{eFloras|1|233501062|Quercus minima |family=Fagaceae |first=Kevin C. |last=Nixon}}</ref><ref>{{PLANTS |symbol=QUMI2 |taxon=Quercus minima |access-date=2009-05-16}}</ref>
''Q. minima'' has been observed growing in environments such as open rocky areas, pine flatwoods, slash pine flatwoods, and along wetland shores.<ref>Florida State University Herbarium Database. URL: <nowiki>http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu</nowiki>. Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Robert K. Godfrey, Robert Kral, and Sidney McDaniel. States and counties: Florida: Calhoun, Franklin, Highlands, Leon, Liberty, Osceola, and Washington.</ref>
==Conservation== The IUCN conservation status is Least Concern (LC).<ref name="iucn status 21 November 2022" /> The NatureServe conservation status is G5 Secure.<ref name = "NatureServe">''Quercus minima''. (n.d.). NatureServe. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.145667/Quercus_minima</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3827372}}
minima Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States<!--not a tree--> Category:Flora of Florida Category:Plants described in 1860 Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status