The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Engelmann oak, Engelmann's oak

Garry oak, Oregon oak, Oregon white oak

Habit Trees, subevergreen, to 10 m. Bark gray or whitish, closely furrowed. Trees or shrubs, deciduous, trees to 15(-20) m, with solitary trunks, shrubs to 0.1-3 m, multitrunked.
Bark

light gray or almost white, scaly.

Twigs

light brown, 1-1.5 mm diam., densely or sparsely stellate-tomentose, soon glabrate.

brown, red, or yellowish, 2-4 mm diam., densely puberulent with spreading hairs or glabrate.

Buds

reddish brown, subspheric to broadly ovoid, 1-2 mm, glabrous or basal scales pubescent;

stipules persistent about terminal buds.

brown or yellowish, ovoid or fusiform and apex acute, 2-12 mm, glandular-puberulent or densely pubescent.

Leaves

blade oblong to elliptic, occasionally lanceolate or ovate, (20-)30-60(-80) × (5-)10-20(-25) mm, base cuneate to cordate, margins entire, undulate, sometimes irregularly toothed, especially toward apex, secondary veins 7-8(-10) on each side, branched, apex acute or broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially blue-green or pale green, densely and loosely glandular-tomentose, quickly glabrate or persistently floccose, especially about base of midrib, at maturity strongly glaucous, adaxially gray-green or pale green, bluish green or glaucous.

blade obovate, elliptic or subrotund, moderately to deeply lobed, 25-120(-140) × 15-85 mm, base rounded-attenuate or cuneate, rarely subcordate, often unequal, margins with sinuses usually reaching more than 1/2 distance to midrib, lobes oblong or spatulate, obtuse, rounded or blunt, larger lobes usually with 2-3 sublobes or teeth, veins often ending in retuse teeth, secondary veins yellowish, 4-7 on each side, the more distal veins often branching within distal lobes, apex broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially light green or waxy yellowish, often felty to touch, densely to sparsely covered with semi-erect or erect, simple and (2-)4-8-rayed, fasciculate hairs 0.1-1 mm, secondary veins raised, adaxially bright or dark green, glossy or somewhat scurfy because of sparse stellate hairs.

Acorns

solitary or paired, subsessile or on peduncle to 5-6 mm;

cup cup-shaped or shallowly cup-shaped, 8-10 mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, enclosing 1/3 nut, scales 1.5-3 mm wide, strongly and regularly tuberculate near base of cup, gray-pubescent;

nut light brown, ovoid or oblong, 15-25 × 12-14 mm, glabrate or puberulent about apex.

1-3, subsessile, rarely on peduncle to 10(-20) mm;

cup saucer-shaped, cup-shaped, or hemispheric, 4-10 mm deep × 12-22 mm wide;

scales yellowish or reddish brown, often long-acute near rim of cup, moderately or scarcely tuberculate, canescent or tomentulose;

nut light brown, oblong to globose, (12-)25-30(-40) × (10-)14-20(-22) mm, apex blunt or rounded, glabrous or often persistently puberulent.

Cotyledons

connate.

distinct.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Quercus engelmannii

Quercus garryana

Phenology Flowering in spring.
Habitat Oak woodlands, margins of chaparral, arroyos, slopes and bajadas
Elevation 50-1200 m (200-3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Quercus engelmannii is closely related to and possibly conspecific with Q. oblongifolia. The cups of Q. engelmannii are larger, deeper, and generally more tuberculate than those of Q. oblongifolia, and the scales are usually larger. Based on available samples, the nuts of Q. engelmannii are consistently larger than those of Q. oblongifolia, apparently with little, if any, overlap in diameter. Considerably more variation occurs within Q. engelmannii in leaf form, possibly reflecting introgression from other white oak species such as Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. dumosa, and Q. durata (see treatment).

On Catalina Island, Quercus engelmannii is known only from a small grove of trees. Putative hybrids between Q. engelmannii and Q. cornelius-mulleri are common in areas of contact between the two species in Riverside and San Diego counties in southern California. Such a population was the basis for Q. acutidens Torrey [Q. dumosa var. acutidens (Torrey) Wenzig]. Other names applied to those populations are Q. macdonaldii var. elegantula Greene and Q. dumosa var. elegantula (Greene) Jepson. Variable in leaf form and stature, those intermediates form extensive populations and are probably best disposed of under the name Q. ×acutidens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Quercus garryana (no varieties specified) was used medicinally by Native Americans to treat tuberculosis and as a drink and a rub for mothers before childbirth (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Trees to 15 m or more, trunk usually solitary; buds yellowish or cream, usually fusiform, 6–12 mm, apex acute, densely pubescent; twigs persistently puberulent, with spreading hairs.
var. garryana
1. Shrubs or small trees usually less than 5 m, multitrunked, spreading and clonal; buds reddish brown, ovoid, 2–5 mm, sparsely glandular-puberulent; twigs sparsely puberulent or glabrate, without spreading hairs.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade abaxially velvety to touch, hairs usually 4–6-rayed, rays 0.25–0.5 mm.
var. breweri
2. Leaf blade abaxially not velvety but sometimes felty, hairs 6–8-rayed, rays less than 0.3 mm.
var. semota
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus
Sibling taxa
Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. alba, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. austrina, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. garryana, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii
Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. alba, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. austrina, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. engelmannii, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii
Subordinate taxa
Q. garryana var. breweri, Q. garryana var. garryana, Q. garryana var. semota
Synonyms Q. douglasii var. neaei, Q. garryana var. jacobi, Q. jacobi, Q. lobata var. breweri, Q. neaei
Name authority Greene: Ill. W. Amer. Oaks 1: 33, plate 17. (1889) Douglas ex Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 159. (1840)
Web links