Oak

In the Zagros and Taurus ranges

Number of species in Kurdistan: There is no single official figure, because Kurdistan is spread across four countries. In the Zagros and Taurus ranges, the main species number roughly between 5 and 8. The mazî tree is one of the species of oak (darberû). The most important are:

• Persian (Brant's) oak (Q. brantii): the most widespread in the forests of the Zagros; by its local name it is called "darberû".
• Gall oak (Aleppo oak) (Q. infectoria)
• Lebanon oak (Q. libani)
• Valonia oak (Q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis) or Q. aegilops, which is sometimes considered a separate species
• Other, less widespread species on the northern and eastern borders, such as Q. petraea, Q. pubescens and Q. macranthera

The further north and east we go, the greater the diversity, especially in the humid mountains of Turkey and Iran.

The richest countries

The richest country in oak species:

• Mexico, with about 160 to 170 species, more than half of which are found nowhere else.
• After it comes China (about 100 species).
• Then the United States of America (about 90 species).