page_title: Lithocarpus
section_title: Species
hierarchical_section_title: Lithocarpus / Species
caption_attribution_description: Plate from book
context_page_description: Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family, Fagaceae. Trees in this genus are commonly known as the stone oaks and differ from Quercus primarily because they produce insect-pollinated flowers on erect spikes and the female flowers have short styles with punctate stigmas. The World Checklist accepts 334 species, all restricted to Southeast Asia. These trees do not tolerate freezing temperatures, because all species are evergreen and none are found in temperate zones, despite the lack of any geographic barrier to dispersal in the subtropical zone of East Asia. They 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 Papua. In general, these trees are most dominant in the uplands and have many ecological similarities to the Dipterocarpaceae, the dominant lowland tree group. These trees are also obviously intolerant of seasonal droughts, not being found on the Lesser Sunda islands, despite their ability to cross numerous water barriers to reach Papua.
caption: Lithocarpus pseudoreinwardtii
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