OregonFlora: Quercus fusiformis vs. Quercus chrysolepis

	Quercus fusiformis	Quercus chrysolepis
		canyon live oak
Habit		Trees or sometimes shrubs evergreen, 1–25 m, solitary; bark splitting into narrow plates and shed as thin flakes, pale to medium gray; twigs with spreading, multiradiate hairs.
Buds		ovoid or ellipsoid, tan to red-brown; tips acute or rounded, glabrous below, puberulent above; terminal buds 2–4 mm.
Leaves		oblong to elliptic or lanceolate; (2.2)2.5–4.7 × (1.2)1.5–2.4 cm; thick and rigid, bases rounded, occasionally truncate; margins entire or spinetoothed, not lobed; secondary veins 5–9 on each side, unlobed; tips obtuse; acute, acuminate, or apiculate; teeth 1–8 on each side, triangular, 1–2 mm; spines 0.5–1 mm; surfaces abaxially with appressed yellow hairs and sometimes multiradiate hairs on midribs and bases early, strongly glaucous with age, adaxially glabrous or with multiradiate hairs at base of midribs; petioles 2–8 mm.
Fruits		ripening 2nd year; nuts ovoid or cylindrical, 1.5–3 × 1–1.8 cm; tips obtuse or rounded; cups discoid or shallowly bowl-shaped; thin, 3–9 × 11–19 mm, covering only bases of nuts; scales plane; ~2 mm, attachment scars 5–6 mm wide.

	Quercus fusiformis	Quercus chrysolepis
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion		Mixed evergreen woodlands, edges of grasslands, chaparral, canyons, ridges, rocky areas. Flowering Apr–May. 0–1600 m. Casc, CR, Sisk. CA, NV; southeast to NM, south to Mexico. Native. This species is extremely variable. Shrubs and large trees may be found together at the same site, and entire leaves and strongly toothed leaves sometimes occur on the same branch. Acorns from Oregon populations of Q. chrysolepis have thin cups, not too different from the cups of Q. vaccinifolia, but examination of additional acorns is needed to assess the variability in this character properly. See also Q. vacciniifolia discussion.
Source		Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 748 Alan Whittemore
Sibling taxa	Q. chrysolepis, Q. garryana, Q. kelloggii, Q. palustris, Q. robur, Q. rubra, Q. sadleriana, Q. vacciniifolia	Q. garryana, Q. kelloggii, Q. palustris, Q. robur, Q. rubra, Q. sadleriana, Q. vacciniifolia
Web links	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Quercus fusiformis

Quercus chrysolepis

canyon live oak

Habit

Trees or sometimes shrubs evergreen, 1–25 m, solitary; bark splitting into narrow plates and shed as thin flakes, pale to medium gray; twigs with spreading, multiradiate hairs.

Buds

ovoid or ellipsoid, tan to red-brown;

tips acute or rounded, glabrous below, puberulent above; terminal buds 2–4 mm.

Leaves

oblong to elliptic or lanceolate; (2.2)2.5–4.7 × (1.2)1.5–2.4 cm; thick and rigid, bases rounded, occasionally truncate;

margins entire or spinetoothed, not lobed;

secondary veins 5–9 on each side, unlobed;

tips obtuse; acute, acuminate, or apiculate;

teeth 1–8 on each side, triangular, 1–2 mm;

spines 0.5–1 mm;

surfaces abaxially with appressed yellow hairs and sometimes multiradiate hairs on midribs and bases early, strongly glaucous with age, adaxially glabrous or with multiradiate hairs at base of midribs;

petioles 2–8 mm.

Fruits

ripening 2nd year; nuts ovoid or cylindrical, 1.5–3 × 1–1.8 cm;

tips obtuse or rounded; cups discoid or shallowly bowl-shaped; thin, 3–9 × 11–19 mm, covering only bases of nuts;

scales plane; ~2 mm, attachment scars 5–6 mm wide.

Quercus fusiformis

Quercus chrysolepis

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Mixed evergreen woodlands, edges of grasslands, chaparral, canyons, ridges, rocky areas. Flowering Apr–May. 0–1600 m. Casc, CR, Sisk. CA, NV; southeast to NM, south to Mexico. Native.

This species is extremely variable. Shrubs and large trees may be found together at the same site, and entire leaves and strongly toothed leaves sometimes occur on the same branch. Acorns from Oregon populations of Q. chrysolepis have thin cups, not too different from the cups of Q. vaccinifolia, but examination of additional acorns is needed to assess the variability in this character properly. See also Q. vacciniifolia discussion.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 748
Alan Whittemore

Sibling taxa