The California Oak

The California Oak(Quercus agrifolia), known asCoast live oak ou California live oak is a member of the Fagaceae family. Its natural range extends from California (United States) to northern Baja California (Mexico).

First described in 1801, the California oak was introduced to Europe (United Kingdom) in 1849 by Karl Theodor Hartweg on behalf of the London Horticultural Society.

Uses of the California Oak

The wood of the California oak is heavy, hard, and brittle, with a tight grain and thick sapwood. It is light brown in color.

Primary Use: Due to its tendency to warp and crack when drying, its use is limited to firewood, Historical Use: It was formerly processed into charcoal.

The Mahuna Native Americans used its wood to heal wounds and the umbilical cords of newborns. Its acorns, ground into flour and cooked, were a staple food for California’s Native Americans.

Characteristics of the California Oak

The California oak is abundant in the valleys south of the San Francisco Bay Area. It also grows in the coastal mountains extending to northern Baja California, at altitudes up to 1,700 meters (where it takes on a shrubby form at its upper altitudinal limit). The California oak does not grow more than 80 kilometers inland.

An evergreen tree, the California oak grows to a height of 15 to 30 meters. Exceptional specimens can reach a canopy spread of 50 meters with a trunk diameter of 3 meters. Its leaves measure 1.5 to 7.5 cm in length and 1 to 4 cm in width. Its acorns, ovoid to conical in shape, are 1.5 to 3.5 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm wide. Sessile* and arranged in clusters of up to three, they mature in one year and are housed in turbinated cupules, shaped like cups or bowls, covering between one-quarter and one-half of the acorn.

*Which lacks an apparent attachment (such as a peduncle) and thus appears directly fixed to the branch.

Visual © D.R.