New record of Quercus frainetto in SW Moravia and notes on its occurrence in the Czech Republic

Quercus frainetto is a typical species of semi-dry forests of the Balkan Peninsula. The northern border of its natural distribution has by many authors been placed in the SE part of Central Europe. In the Czech Republic, the only well-documented occurrence has been known from the neighbourhood of the town of Znojmo, SW Moravia. A new site was discovered in the Krumlovský les forest in the Moravský Krumlov region about 30 km NE of Znojmo in 2011. Two adult trees belonging to this species were found in the vegetation of an acidophilous oak forest on a granodiorite plateau. The nearest sites outside the Czech Republic are located in southern Slovakia and northern Hungary, but their native status has been disputed by local authors. Thus, the status of the Czech populations is a question indeed. We reviewed the circumstances of the occurrence of Q. frainetto in the Czech Republic and concluded that there is little evidence supporting the hypothesis of its native status.