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Line 18: '''''Lithocarpus''''' is a genus in the [[beech]] family, [[Fagaceae]]. Trees in this genus are commonly known as the '''stone oaks''' and differ from ''[[Oak|Quercus]]'' primarily because they produce insect-pollinated flowers on erect [[spike (botany)|spikes]] and the female flowers have short [[style (botany)|styles]] with punctate [[stigma (botany)|stigmas]]. At current, around 340 species have been described,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Strijk|first=J.S.|date=September 4, 2018|title=Lithocarpus - On: asianfagaceae.com – The complete database for information on the evolutionary history, diversity, identification and conservation of over 700 Species of Asian trees.|url=https://www.asianfagaceae.com|access-date=May 4, 2021|website=Asian Fagaceae}}</ref> mostly restricted to [[Southeast Asia]]. Fossils show that ''Lithocarpus'' formerly had a wider distribution, being found in North America and Europe during the [[Eocene]] to [[Miocene]] epochs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=Xiaoyan|last2=Song|first2=Hanzhang|last3=Jin|first3=Jianhua|date=2020-08-14|title=Diversity of Fagaceae on Hainan Island of South China During the Middle Eocene: Implications for Phytogeography and Paleoecology|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution|volume=8|pages=255|doi=10.3389/fevo.2020.00255|issn=2296-701X|doi-access=free}}</ref> The species extend from the foothills of the [[Hengduan Mountains]], where they form dominant stands of trees, through Indochina and the Malayan Archipelago, crossing [[Wallace's Line]] and reaching [[New Guinea|Papua]]. In general, these trees are most dominant in the uplands (more than {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} above sea level) and have many ecological similarities to the [[Dipterocarpaceae]], the dominant lowland tree group.<ref name=ashton88/> These trees are intolerant of seasonal droughts, not being found on the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], despite their ability to cross numerous water barriers to reach Papua.<ref name=cannon03/><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Strijk|first1=Joeri S.|last2=Binh|first2=Hoàng Thi|last3=Ngoc|first3=Nguyen Van|last4=Pereira|first4=Joan T.|last5=Slik|first5=J. W. Ferry|last6=Sukri|first6=Rahayu S.|last7=Suyama|first7=Yoshihisa|last8=Tagane|first8=Shuichiro|last9=Wieringa|first9=Jan J.|last10=Yahara|first10=Tetsukazu|last11=Hinsinger|first11=Damien D.|date=2020-05-22|title=Museomics for reconstructing historical floristic exchanges: Divergence of stone oaks across Wallacea|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=15|issue=5|pages=e0232936|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0232936|issn=1932-6203|pmc=7244142|pmid=32442164|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1532936S|doi-access=free}}</ref> The North American '''[[tanoak]]''' or '''tanbark oak''' (''Notholithocarpus densiflorus'') was previously included in this genus but recent evidence indicates the similarities in flower and fruit morphology are due to convergent evolution. Both genetic and morphological evidence demonstrate that the tanoak is a distant relative to Asian stone oaks, and ''Lithocarpus'' trees are [[evergreen]] [[tree]]s with leathery, alternate [[leaf|leaves]], the margins of which are almost always entire, rarely toothed. The [[seed]] is a [[nut (fruit)|nut]] similar to an [[oak]] [[acorn]] with a [[Calybium and cupule|cupule]] enclosing the basal part of the fruit. Cupules of stone oaks demonstrate a wide variety in the type and arrangement of [[lamella (botany)|lamellae]] and scales on the outside of the cupule, with some of them completely enclosing the nut, even becoming irregularly [[dehiscent]] in a few species. The seeds are often protected by a hard woody shell (hence the genus name, from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|λίθος}}, {{transliteration|grc|lithos}}, "stone" and {{lang|grc|καρπός}}, {{transliteration|grc|karpos}}, "seed"). In some sections of the genus, the seed is embedded in the basal material of the fruit which becomes highly [[lignified]] and hard, lending greater mechanical protection to the seed,<ref name=chen12/> creating a novel type of fruit.<ref name=cannon00/> The kernel is edible in some species (e.g. ''[[Lithocarpus edulis]]''), but inedible, and very bitter, in others. | |||