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desert scrub oak, Tucker oak, Tucker's oak

California white oak, roble, valley oak

Habit Shrubs, subevergreen or evergreen, 1-3(-5) m. Bark light gray or brown, scaly. Trees, deciduous, to 25(-35) m, usually with solitary trunks.
Bark

gray, scaly, deeply checkered in age.

Twigs

yellowish or dingy gray, 1-1.5(-2) mm diam., densely tomentulose.

yellowish, gray, occasionally reddish, 2-4 mm diam., densely or sparsely tomentulose.

Buds

brown, ovoid or globose, 1.5-2(-3) mm, glabrous except for ciliate margins of scales;

proximal scales often yellowish puberulent.

yellowish or light brown, ovoid, (2-)3-5(-6) mm, apex occasionally acute, densely pubescent.

Leaves

blade unicolored, elliptic or obovate, (10-)15-30(-40) × (8-)10-15(-20) mm, thick and leathery, often brittle, base truncate or rounded-attenuate, rarely subcordate, margins irregularly spinose-toothed, occasionally shallowly lobate, secondary veins (3-)4-7, often some veins branching near margin and passing into more than 1 tooth, apex acute or rounded;

surfaces abaxially waxy grayish, light green, or yellowish, sparse to moderately dense (8-)10-12-rayed, (loosely) appressed-stellate hairs, often 0.2-0.5 mm diam., and sparse to crowded, yellowish, glandular hairs, adaxially dull grayish, with stellate hairs, similar to abaxial surface.

blade broadly obovate or elliptic, moderately to deeply lobed, (40-)50-100(-120) × 30-60(-75) mm, base rounded-attenuate, cuneate, or truncate, rarely subcordate, margins with sinuses usually reaching more than 1/2 distance to midrib, lobes oblong or spatulate, obtuse, rounded, or blunt, secondary veins 5-10 on each side, apex broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially whitish or light green, densely to sparsely covered with interlocking appressed or semi-erect, 8-10(-14)-rayed stellate hairs, adaxially dark green or grayish, glossy or somewhat scurfy because of sparse stellate hairs.

Acorns

solitary or paired, subsessile;

cup cup-shaped or obconic to hemispheric, 5-7 mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, thin, scales whitish or yellowish, moderately or scarcely tuberculate, puberulent;

nut fusiform, ovoid, or conic, 20-30 mm, apex acute.

solitary or paired, subsessile;

cup deeply cup-shaped, hemispheric or turbinate, rim thick, 10-30 mm deep × 14-30 mm wide, scales grayish or cream, more acute near rim, strongly and irregularly tuberculate, especially toward base of cup;

nut light brown, oblong or fusiform, 30-60 × (12-)15-25 mm, tapering to acute or rounded apex.

Cotyledons

distinct.

distinct.

Quercus john-tuckeri

Quercus lobata

Phenology Flowering late winter–early spring.
Habitat Dry slopes, chaparral, pinyon and juniper woodlands, margins of oak woodlands and sagebrush Valley floors and moderate slopes, open grasslands, savannah and oak woodlands, riparian areas in chaparral
Elevation 900-2000 m (3000-6600 ft) 0-1700 m (0-5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Dry slopes, chaparral, pinyon and juniper woodlands, margins of oak woodlands and sagebrush; 900-2000 m; Calif.

Endemic to California, Quercus john-tuckeri occurs from Los Angeles County northward in the interior Coast Ranges and Sierra Foothills to the northern edge of Sacramento Valley.

Quercus john-tuckeri bears some resemblance to both Q. turbinella and Q. berberidifolia. Quercus turbinella has pedunculate fruit and cordate leaf bases, however, and Q. berberidifolia has a glabrate adaxial leaf surface, substantially smaller stellate trichomes with fewer rays on the abaxial leaf surface, heavier tuberculate acorn cups, and blunt or rounded (instead of acute) acorns.

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

Mature trees of Quercus lobata are among the largest oaks of the United States. The species hybridizes with numerous other species, but the hybrids are not common in most parts of its range. On Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina islands, however, occur extensive and relatively stable populations that show intermediate characteristics with Q. pacifica (see treatment). The hybrids have been given the name Q. ×macdonaldii, and they differ from Q. lobata in the following: leaf sinuses reaching less than half the distance to the midrib; leaves usually smaller, the lobes often more acute and brighter green; and acorns smaller, with more acute apices.

The Yuri used Quercus lobata in the treatment of diarrhea (D. E. Moerman 1986).

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

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. engelmannii, 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Q. turbinella subsp. californica Q. hindsii, Q. lobata var. hindsii, Q. longiglanda
Name authority Nixon & C. H. Muller: Novon 4: 391. (1994) Nee.: Anales Ci. Nat. 3: 277. (1801)
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