Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each. Plato (BC 427-BC 347) Greek philosopher.
Heritage Oak Tree Identification
Deciduous species of the oak tree are generally seen in the colder latitudes, while those with evergreen leaves are seen to the south. The species also includes smaller plants or oak shrubs. Hybrids, intermediates of two oak tree species, and are usually evergreen. Oak leaves change color in fall taking on a bright gold or scarlet or russet hue. The leaves shed annually during fall.
DECIDUOUS OAK TREES
Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii, Deciduous
Native to California growing in the valleys and lower slopes of the Coast Ranges, lower western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and the north slope of the San Gabriel Mountains covering 3 million acres. At lower elevation seen with annual grasslands, and at higher elevations seen with chaparral, pinyon and juniper woodlands. Often grows among gray pines and other oaks species such as live oak, black oak and valley oak. Adapted to drought and dry climates. They can survive temperatures above 100° F for several weeks at a time.
Leaves: Simple, alternate. 1-3 inches long with wavy, shallow and irregular margins, usually with 7 lobes. Blue-green color above and yellow-green on the lower surface. A waxy coating covers the tough and thick leaves to help conserve water.
Acorns: Long, thin, gently tapering 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches long with shallow caps. Ripen in one year, and can germinate after one month, unlike other oak varieties, which germinate the following spring. The acorns are palatable to livestock and wildlife. It is an important food source for black-tailed deer, game birds and rodents. At least a dozen species of songbirds also eat the acorns.
Size: Average 30' up to 60' in deep moist soil. Grows very slowly.
Canopy: has an open structure an is typically rounded with many crooked branches.
Winter Deciduous: but will sometimes shed leaves during severely hot and dry years and go dormant. The litter of leaves and twigs decomposes into a soil high in nutrients and organic matter, holding water better than the surrounding areas. This contributes to high species diversity under the canopies. .
Male flowers: Yellow-green catkins. Female flowers: Small and often solitary, grown in the axis of the leaves on new twigs. Flower from April through May..
Bark: The light colored bark is thick and helps reduce fire damage.
Roots: Extensive root system. Can grow through cracks in rocks to depths of 80 feet to reach ground water. Its root system allows it to survive in fire prone and arid regions. From the beginning most growth is in the roots instead of the shoots. This allows it to tap into available water sources right away, and survive dry conditions
Reproduction: Through seeds and vegetatively from burnt or cut stumps.
Notes: The blue oak isn't used in manufacturing because of its crooked growth habit. But it is used as fence posts and fuel wood. Native Americans made meal from blue oak acorns, and used the acorn leachate for dying baskets. The wood was used to make bowls.
Stands of blue oaks are typically 80 to 100 years old. Blue oaks are slow growers, and small plants can be 25 years old. Some blue oaks are as old as 200 to 500 years old. The number of blue oaks has decreased because there has been no natural regeneration. It is not considered endangered, however, because of its wide distribution across the region.
Valley oak, Blue oak and Engelmann oak are the common oaks of the inner valleys in California.
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Leaves: Simple, alternate. 1-3 inches long with wavy, shallow and irregular margins, usually with 7 lobes. Blue-green color above and yellow-green on the lower surface. A waxy coating covers the tough and thick leaves to help conserve water.
Acorns: Long, thin, gently tapering 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches long with shallow caps. Ripen in one year, and can germinate after one month, unlike other oak varieties, which germinate the following spring. The acorns are palatable to livestock and wildlife. It is an important food source for black-tailed deer, game birds and rodents. At least a dozen species of songbirds also eat the acorns.
Size: Average 30' up to 60' in deep moist soil. Grows very slowly.
Canopy: has an open structure an is typically rounded with many crooked branches.
Winter Deciduous: but will sometimes shed leaves during severely hot and dry years and go dormant. The litter of leaves and twigs decomposes into a soil high in nutrients and organic matter, holding water better than the surrounding areas. This contributes to high species diversity under the canopies. .
Male flowers: Yellow-green catkins. Female flowers: Small and often solitary, grown in the axis of the leaves on new twigs. Flower from April through May..
Bark: The light colored bark is thick and helps reduce fire damage.
Roots: Extensive root system. Can grow through cracks in rocks to depths of 80 feet to reach ground water. Its root system allows it to survive in fire prone and arid regions. From the beginning most growth is in the roots instead of the shoots. This allows it to tap into available water sources right away, and survive dry conditions
Reproduction: Through seeds and vegetatively from burnt or cut stumps.
Notes: The blue oak isn't used in manufacturing because of its crooked growth habit. But it is used as fence posts and fuel wood. Native Americans made meal from blue oak acorns, and used the acorn leachate for dying baskets. The wood was used to make bowls.
Stands of blue oaks are typically 80 to 100 years old. Blue oaks are slow growers, and small plants can be 25 years old. Some blue oaks are as old as 200 to 500 years old. The number of blue oaks has decreased because there has been no natural regeneration. It is not considered endangered, however, because of its wide distribution across the region.
Valley oak, Blue oak and Engelmann oak are the common oaks of the inner valleys in California.
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California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii, Deciduous
Is most common in California, but it stretches as far north as the Umpqua Valley in Oregon. In northern California it can cover thousands of acres and be the dominant tree in whole forests. In central and southern California the colonies are much more fragmented. The stands usually occur on north slopes (but in Mesa Grande they are a whole forest), usually where the summers are cool (but in Templeton they get into the 100's), usually below snow level (but on Mt. Pinos they may see 10 foot of snow), usually in a wetter spot or where the rainfall exceeds 40 inches, but again, not always.
Leaves: Simple, alternate. Pinnately lobed with 7 pointed and bristle-tipped lobes.
Acorn: Deep cap; 1"-2" long
Size: Grow to 80' tall and 3' in diameter, but usually smaller.
Twigs: Stout with buds clustered near the tip.
Bark: Dark with irregular plates. About 1" thick
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Leaves: Simple, alternate. Pinnately lobed with 7 pointed and bristle-tipped lobes.
Acorn: Deep cap; 1"-2" long
Size: Grow to 80' tall and 3' in diameter, but usually smaller.
Twigs: Stout with buds clustered near the tip.
Bark: Dark with irregular plates. About 1" thick
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California Live Oak, Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia, Evergreen
Grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. Coast Live Oak is the only California native oak that actually thrives in the coastal environment. Confused with interior live oak but rounded and cupped leaves. This oak is very drought tolerant, looks nice all year, and grows fairly quickly for an oak. Coast Live Oak will grow up high on the hillsides in central California (in the draws where there is more moisture). Under stress (drought, insects, diseases, etc.) the leaves will roll under and even fall off. No stress and the leaves are flat (like Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizenii, BUT, for all oaks a little stress is good! Flat- leaved Coast Live Oaks are more susceptible to SOD (sudden oak death) or other diseases.
Leaves: Simple, alternate, 1-3 in., roundish, spiny-toothed; dark and shiny green above with gray or rusty fuzz underneath; convex, cupped or spoon-shaped. Thin-toothed edges that become sharper as they age. Not too fun to play around if you are barefoot.
Acorn: Slender, reddish brown acorn 3/4 to 2-3/4 in.; cup over 1/3 of nut and not warty. Vary from short fat stubby ones that seem to be all cap, into the monsters shown above right.
Size: Grow 20 -40' and 1-4' in diameter. May reach 80' tall. Has multi-branched trunk and may live in excess of 250 Years. Shrubby.
Twigs:
Bark:
Note: Quercus agrifolia(Coast Live Oak) and Quercus dumosa(scrub oak) are probably the most common oaks in California cities.
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Leaves: Simple, alternate, 1-3 in., roundish, spiny-toothed; dark and shiny green above with gray or rusty fuzz underneath; convex, cupped or spoon-shaped. Thin-toothed edges that become sharper as they age. Not too fun to play around if you are barefoot.
Acorn: Slender, reddish brown acorn 3/4 to 2-3/4 in.; cup over 1/3 of nut and not warty. Vary from short fat stubby ones that seem to be all cap, into the monsters shown above right.
Size: Grow 20 -40' and 1-4' in diameter. May reach 80' tall. Has multi-branched trunk and may live in excess of 250 Years. Shrubby.
Twigs:
Bark:
Note: Quercus agrifolia(Coast Live Oak) and Quercus dumosa(scrub oak) are probably the most common oaks in California cities.
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Canyon Live Oak, Quercus chrysolepis
Grows in the rough, dry country of southwestern Oregon and south through California. It grows along canyon bottoms or other places where it has favorable soil and moisture.
Leaves: Simple, alternate. 1"-4" long. Two distinctive types on same plant. Some have smooth
edges while some are spiked like holly leaves. Lobes are typically sharp tipped, and have bristles at the lobe tip.
Acorn: from 1/2" - 2" long. Cap is variable, but generally shallow.
Size: May be a shrub to 15' tall or a tree to 80' tall and 2' in diameter.
Twigs: Slender; buds clustered at tips. Pith is star-shaped.
Bark: Grayish-brown and scaly. Thin (about 1" thick).
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Leaves: Simple, alternate. 1"-4" long. Two distinctive types on same plant. Some have smooth
edges while some are spiked like holly leaves. Lobes are typically sharp tipped, and have bristles at the lobe tip.
Acorn: from 1/2" - 2" long. Cap is variable, but generally shallow.
Size: May be a shrub to 15' tall or a tree to 80' tall and 2' in diameter.
Twigs: Slender; buds clustered at tips. Pith is star-shaped.
Bark: Grayish-brown and scaly. Thin (about 1" thick).
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Cork Oak, Quercus suber, Evergreen
Native to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the southern parts of France. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. Cork oaks live about 150 to 250 years.
Leaves: Ovate, thick, slightly toothed, of a light green on the upper surface and glaucous beneath. Leaves are evergreen, but the greater part of them fall and are renewed in the spring.
Acorns: Rather large, oval and half enclosed in a conical cup.
Size: It rarely exceeds forty feet in height and three feet in diameter.
Notes: The worth of the tree resides in its bark, which begins to be taken off at the age of twenty-five years. The first growth is of little value; in ten years it is renewed; but the second product, though less cracked than the first, is not thick enough for corks, and is used only by fishermen to buoy up their nets. It is not till the tree is forty-five or fifty years old that the bark possesses all the qualities requisite for good corks, and from that period it is collected once in eight or ten years. A cork tree can be harvested about twelve times in its lifetime. Portugal accounts for around 50% of the world cork harvest. Cork harvesting is done entirely without machinery, being dependent solely on human labor. Usually five people are required to harvest the tree's bark, using a small axe. The process requires training due to the skill required to harvest bark without harming the tree. The European cork industry produces 300,000 tons of cork a year, with a value of €1.5 billion and employing 30,000 people. Wine corks represent 15% of cork usage by weight but 66% of revenues. Cork oaks are sometimes planted as individual trees, providing a minor income to their owners. The tree is also sometimes cultivated for ornament.
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Leaves: Ovate, thick, slightly toothed, of a light green on the upper surface and glaucous beneath. Leaves are evergreen, but the greater part of them fall and are renewed in the spring.
Acorns: Rather large, oval and half enclosed in a conical cup.
Size: It rarely exceeds forty feet in height and three feet in diameter.
Notes: The worth of the tree resides in its bark, which begins to be taken off at the age of twenty-five years. The first growth is of little value; in ten years it is renewed; but the second product, though less cracked than the first, is not thick enough for corks, and is used only by fishermen to buoy up their nets. It is not till the tree is forty-five or fifty years old that the bark possesses all the qualities requisite for good corks, and from that period it is collected once in eight or ten years. A cork tree can be harvested about twelve times in its lifetime. Portugal accounts for around 50% of the world cork harvest. Cork harvesting is done entirely without machinery, being dependent solely on human labor. Usually five people are required to harvest the tree's bark, using a small axe. The process requires training due to the skill required to harvest bark without harming the tree. The European cork industry produces 300,000 tons of cork a year, with a value of €1.5 billion and employing 30,000 people. Wine corks represent 15% of cork usage by weight but 66% of revenues. Cork oaks are sometimes planted as individual trees, providing a minor income to their owners. The tree is also sometimes cultivated for ornament.
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Emory Oak, Quercus emoryi
Common in Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas, USA, and northern Mexico south to Durango and San Luis Potosí. It typically grows in dry hills at moderate altitudes. Zones 7-9
Leaves: 3-6 cm long, entire or wavy-toothed, leathery, dark green above, paler below. It is a live oak in the red oak group, retaining its leaves through the winter until the new leaves are produced in spring.
Acorns: are 1.5-2 cm long, blackish-brown, and mature in 6-8 months from pollination; the kernel is sweet, and is an important food for many mammals and birds. Size: Large shrub or small tree from 5-17 m tall.
Note: The tree is named after the United States army surveyor, Lieutenant William Hemsley Emory, who surveyed the area of west Texas where it was discovered in 1846.
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Leaves: 3-6 cm long, entire or wavy-toothed, leathery, dark green above, paler below. It is a live oak in the red oak group, retaining its leaves through the winter until the new leaves are produced in spring.
Acorns: are 1.5-2 cm long, blackish-brown, and mature in 6-8 months from pollination; the kernel is sweet, and is an important food for many mammals and birds. Size: Large shrub or small tree from 5-17 m tall.
Note: The tree is named after the United States army surveyor, Lieutenant William Hemsley Emory, who surveyed the area of west Texas where it was discovered in 1846.
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Engelmann Oak, Pasadena Oak, Quercus engelmannii
Native to Southern California and northwestern Baja California, Mexico, usually away from the coast, but not in the desert or higher elevations. It's a flat lander, foothill or valley dweller. Not many are found as you hike through the chaparral or pine forests. Has a smaller range than most California oaks. It is commonly associated with shallow rocky soils. Very Drought Tolerant. Zones 8-9
Leaves: Lobed blue-green, leathery, not prickly, 3-6 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, flat or wavy, with smooth margins.
Size: Smaller round form.
Deciduous, or evergreen, depending upon environmental conditions
Note: Valley oak, Blue oak and Engelmann oak are the common oaks of the inner valleys in California.
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Gambel Oak, Quercus gambelii, Deciduous
Widespread in the foothills and lower mountain elevations of the central southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It typically grows at altitudes of 1,000–3,000 meters above sea level, where precipitation averages between 30–60 centimeters (12–24 inches) per year. Zones 4-8
Leaves: 3–5 inches long, deeply lobed on each side of the central vein; the upper surface is glossy dark green, the under-surface is paler and velvety. They frequently turn orange and yellow during autumn, creating mountainsides of vivid colors.
Size: Average mature height is from 10–30 ft, but occasionally reaches heights of 60 ft in some locations.
Note: It is often called scrub oak, oak brush or white oak.
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Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizenii, Evergreen
Very similar to Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) with evergreen, prickly leaves, and grows in the interior portions of the state. Not as drought tolerant, though, as Coast Live Oak in that it needs a little more rainfall. Found at higher elevations where the rainfall is above 40 inches on a regular basis. Zones 8-9
Leaves: Can have smooth leaves or almost holly- like leaves
Note: It is commonly associated with California Bay (Umbellularia californica) and Madrone (Arbutus menziesii).
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Mexican Blue Oak, Quercus oblongifolia
Mexican Blue Oak
Quercus
oblongifolia
Zones 7-9
Quercus
oblongifolia
Zones 7-9
Northern Red Oak, Quercus rubra
Zones 3-8
Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana
Occurs throughout the Siskiyou Mountains, but seldom ventures west of the Coast Range summit. Only along the Columbia Gorge does it venture into eastern Oregon. Leaves: Simple, alternate, deciduous. Pinnately lobed with 7-9 rounded lobes; lobes often irregular. 3"-6" long and 2"-5" wide.
Acorn with shallow cap; about 1" long.
Size: Grows to 80' tall and 3' in diameter. Has a rounded crown when open-grown.
Twigs: Stout; several budsclustered at tip; fuzzy buds. Pit is star-shaped.
Bark: Grayish; may be shaggy or have shallow ridges and fissures.
Acorn with shallow cap; about 1" long.
Size: Grows to 80' tall and 3' in diameter. Has a rounded crown when open-grown.
Twigs: Stout; several budsclustered at tip; fuzzy buds. Pit is star-shaped.
Bark: Grayish; may be shaggy or have shallow ridges and fissures.
Coastal sage scrub oak, Nuttall's scrub oak, California scrub oak, Quercus dumosa, Evergreen
A shrub that is native to California and to Baja California and grows primarily in sandy soils such as sandstone near the coast. An evergreen shrub, sometimes tree-like, to 15 ft. with an equal spread. Stiff twigs form a dense habit and bear wavy, leathery leaves. The prickly foliage is green on top and dull on the underside. It described as a rare species
Shrub Live Oak, Quercus turbinella
Shrub Live Oak
Quercus
turbinella
Zones 7-9
Quercus
turbinella
Zones 7-9
Swamp White Oak, Quercus bicolor
Swamp White Oak
Quercus
bicolor
Zones 4-8
Quercus
bicolor
Zones 4-8
Valley Oak
Quercus
lobata
Zones 9-10
Valley oak, Blue oak and Engelmann oak are the common oaks of the inner valleys in California.
Quercus
lobata
Zones 9-10
Valley oak, Blue oak and Engelmann oak are the common oaks of the inner valleys in California.