COAST LIVE OAK

Species Name: Quercus agrifolia
Family: Fagaceae (oak family)
Plant Type: Broad-leaf tree



Description:  Tree, wide top, height 35-80 feet, large branches that often touch the ground, evergreen with leaves falling year round.



Leaf:  Ovate, leathery, waxy, strongly convex, with small brownish hairs at the intersections of the primary leaf veins on the leaf underside, length to 3 inches, margin wavy, irregular, often spined.

   

Flower:  Female flower tiny, singular or small clusters on new growth; male flower catkin, long, threadlike strand containing 25 - 100 male flowers, located on older growth.
Fruit/Seed:  Acorn:  slender, pointy tip, length to 1½ inches, wooly interior, ripens in autumn after 6-8 months growth.  Cap large with thin, flat scales.


Typical Location:  Established floodplain, valleys, mixed-evergreen forest, woodland; elevations below 5,000 feet.

Revegetation Approach:  Container, direct seed.  Hybridizes with Q. kelloggii, Q. parvula, Q. wislizenii.

Key Notes:  Leaf and acorn morphology help distinguish from valley oak (Q. lobata) and Oregon oak (Q. garryana).
Notes:  Trees provide shade as well as roosts and nesting sites for cavity nesting birds and bats.  Acorns are an important food source for many wildlife species, especially woodpeckers and squirrels.  Native Americans utilized acorns as a staple food crop.  Wood made excellent charcoal and was massively harvested by European pioneers.  Long-lived, commonly exceeding 250 years.