Editing Quercus muehlenbergii (section)

==Taxonomy==
[[File:MuhlenbergGotthilf.jpg|thumb|Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, for whom ''Quercus muehlenbergii'' was named (portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]], 1810)]]
''Q.&nbsp;muehlenbergii'' is generally regarded as a distinct species from the similar-appearing [[chestnut oak]] (''Q.&nbsp;montana''). The tree's scientific name honors [[Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg]] (1753–1815), a [[Lutheran]] pastor and amateur botanist in [[Pennsylvania]]. In publishing the name ''Quercus mühlenbergii'', [[Germany|German]]-[[United States|American]] [[botanist]] [[George Engelmann]] mistakenly used an [[Umlaut (diacritic)|umlaut]] in spelling Muhlenberg's name, even though Pennsylvania-born Muhlenberg himself did not use an umlaut in his name. Under the modern [[International Code of Botanical Nomenclature|rules of botanical nomenclature]], umlauts are transliterated, with ''ü'' becoming ''ue'', hence Engelmann's ''Quercus mühlenbergii'' is now presented as ''Quercus muehlenbergii''. In lack of evidence that Engelmann's use of the umlaut was an unintended error, and hence correctable, the ''muehlenbergii'' spelling is considered correct, although the more appropriate [[orthography|orthographic]] variant ''Quercus muhlenbergii'' is often seen.<ref name="NS Q.muehl.">{{cite web|title=Quercus muehlenbergii|url=http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=131052&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=131052&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=131052|work=NatureServe Explorer|publisher=NatureServe|access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kendig |first1=James W. |title=Nomenclatural History of Quercus Muehlenbergii |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41610373 |journal=Bartonia |pages=45–48 |date=1979|issue=46 |jstor=41610373 }}</ref>

The low-growing, [[cloning]] ''[[Quercus prinoides|Q. prinoides]]'' (dwarf chinquapin oak) is similar to ''Q.&nbsp;muehlenbergii'' and has been confused with it in the past, but is now generally accepted as a distinct species.<ref Name="FNA Qprinoides">{{eFloras|1|233501075|Quercus prinoides |family=Fagaceae |first=Kevin C. |last=Nixon |access-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> If the two are considered to be [[conspecific]], the earlier-published name ''Quercus prinoides'' has priority over ''Q.&nbsp;muehlenbergii'', and the larger chinquapin oak can then be classified as ''Quercus prinoides ''var.'' acuminata'', with the dwarf chinquapin oak being ''Quercus prinoides ''var.'' prinoides''. ''Q.&nbsp;prinoides'' was named and described by the German botanist [[Carl Ludwig Willdenow|Karl (Carl) Ludwig Willdenow]] in 1801, in a German journal article by Muhlenberg.<ref name=FNA />