Quercus aurea is a species of oak. It is a tree native to southeastern and south-central Europe, ranging from Italy, including Sardinia and Sicily, through the Balkan Peninsula to Greece and Romania, and north to Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The species includes populations formerly grouped under Quercus dalechampii. In 2012 Di Pietro et al. concluded that the name Q. dalechampii had been inconsistently applied, and designated a new lectotype. Q. dalechampii as circumscribed by Di Pietro et al. is endemic to southern Italy, and excludes the populations in southeastern Europe.Di Pietro R, Viscosi V, Peruzzi L, Fortini P (2012) A review of the application of the name Quercus dalechampii. Taxon 61(6):1311–1316Kučera, P. New name for Central Europaean oak formerly labelled as Quercus dalechampii. Biologia 73, 313–317 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0048-z The name Quercus aurea, first published by Piotr Pawlus Wierzbicki in 1835, was revived for the populations excluded from di Pietro's recircumscription. Peter Kučera considered Q. aurea an invalid name, and in 2018 proposed the new name Q. banatus for the species. As of July 2026 Plants of the World Online accepts Q. aurea as the valid name.
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