This deciduous oak with a mainly southern European distribution is present in all regions of Italy. It grows in thermophilous deciduous woods, either on limestone or on calcium-rich sandstone, on neutral-basic clay soils that are moderately dry in summer, with optimum in the sub-Mediterranean belt. The species very rarely occurs also along the edges of the Sardinian temporary ponds. The wood, thanks to its durability, is used in the construction of railway sleepers; in the past it was used for beams, shipbuilding, etc.; the infusion of the bark and young branches was used in traditional medicine as an astringent and febrifuge. The acorns have had many uses, from food for pigs to use as a coffee substitute. The genus name was already in use among the ancient Romans, it seems to reconnect to a Indo-European root that Latin shares with the Celtic words 'kaer' and 'quer' (beautiful tree), but also with similar Greek terms that refer to the roughness of the bark and wood; the species name refers to the hairiness of the leaves. Flowering period: April to May.

Italian name(s): Cervatt (Friuli), Cerza (Campania, Ischia), Gianda (Emilia-Romagna), Querce domestica (Calabria), Quercia lanuginosa (Marche), Quercia pubescente (Italia), Quercia roverella (Italia), Roul (Piemonte), Roverella (Italia), Seradel (Lombardia, Brescia).