California black oak

Quercus kelloggii

Family: Fagaceae.

Type: Deciduous tree.

Branching: Alternate.

Oak Group: Black.

Leaves: Broad leaves that are deeply lobed, ending with bristle-tipped teeth.

Twig: Bark is quite black and fairly smooth.

Fruit & Flower: Acorns are fairly large, with smooth scales and a short cap; we will not see them in this class, however.

Miscellaneous: This oak is in the black oak group, so it has bristle-tipped teeth and leaves that are the same color on both sides (like the shreve oak). It is shade-tolerant when young, but become shade-intolerant when full-grown. It is somewhat drought-intolerant, as suggested by its deciduous leaves. In an area with normal fire patterns, the California black oak would thrive in the open areas between giant sequoias and ponderosas, but in fire-controlled areas it is becoming shaded out. Found in mid-elevation mixed conifer forests such as Calaveras Big Trees; also found in the Coast range, such as on east-facing slopes in the Santa Cruz mountains, mixed in with other evergreen oaks at higher elevations. It extends from Oregon to Baja.