Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus robur

Quercus agrifolia

British oak, chêne pédoncule, English oak, French oak, pedunculate oak

California live oak, coast live oak, encina
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m. Bark light gray, scaly. Trees, evergreen, to 25 m. Bark gray to dark brown or black, ridges broad, rounded.
Twigs

brown, 2-3 mm diam., glabrous.

brown to red-brown, 1.5-3 mm diam., with scattered pubescence or uniformly pubescent.
Buds

dark brown, ovoid, distally obtuse, 2-3 mm, glabrous.

Leaves

blade obovate to narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate (some cultivars oblanceolate), (50-)70-150(-200) × (20-)35-85(-100) mm, base strongly cordate, often minutely revolute or folded, margins moderately to deeply lobed, lobes rounded or retuse distally, sinuses extending 1/3-7/8 distance to midrib, secondary veins arched, divergent, (3-)5-7 on each side, apex broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially light green, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, glabrous at maturity, adaxially deep green to light green or gray, dull or glossy.

blade broadly elliptic to ovate or oblong, 15-75 × 10-40 mm, base rounded or cordate, margins entire or spinose, with up to 24 awns, apex blunt to attenuate;

surfaces abaxially glabrous or with small axillary tufts of tomentum, veins raised, adaxially distinctly convex, rugose, glabrous, occasionally densely uniformly pubescent.
Acorns

1-3, on very thin (1-2 mm diam.), flexuous peduncle (25-)35-65(-100) mm;

cup hemispheric to deeply goblet-shaped, enclosing 1/4-1/2 nut or more, scales closely appressed, often in concentric rows, finely grayish tomentose;

nut brown, ovoid, oblong, or cylindric, 15-30(-35) × 12-20 mm, glabrous.

annual;

cup turbinate to cup- or bowl-shaped, rarely saucer-shaped, 9-13 mm high × 9-15 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/3(-1/2) nut, outer surface glabrous to sparsely puberulent, inner surface pubescent on innermost 1/3 to uniformly pubescent, scales acute, tips loose;

nut ovoid to oblong or conic, 15-35 × 10-15 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 3.5-8 mm.
Cotyledons

distinct.

Terminal

buds light chestnut brown, ovoid, occasionally subconic, 3-6(-7) mm, glabrous except for cilia along scale margins.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Quercus robur

Quercus agrifolia
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering early to mid spring.
Habitat Roadsides, pastures, forest margins and woodlands Moderately dry sites
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0–1400 m (0–4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
BC; NB; NS; PE [Introduced from Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Quercus robur is one of the oaks most commonly cultivated in temperate and subtropical parts of the world. In North America it is most commonly seen in the eastern and northwestern parts of the United States and and in southeastern and southwestern Canada, where it tolerates a wide array of conditions and is extremely hardy. In Washington, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, apparently reproducing populations persist in the wild. Elsewhere, although actual naturalization appears to be rare, Q. robur should be expected to persist around old homesites and other places of cultivation.

Quercus robur most closely resembles our native species Q. alba in leaf form. In contrast with Q. alba, which has relatively long petioles (longer than 10 mm), acute leaf bases, and subsessile fruit (rarely on peduncles to 25 mm), Q. robur is easily distinguished by its shorter petioles (less than 10 mm), cordate, almost clasping, leaf bases, and fruit on long (more than 35 mm), thin peduncles.

Quercus robur is one of the oaks most widely celebrated in literature; it has wood of exceptionally high quality for the manufacture of furniture, and it previously was the most important wood used in the manufacture of wooden sailing vessels in Europe.

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

Quercus agrifolia is found in the Coast Ranges from Sonoma County, California, south to Baja California. Plants with densely pubescent leaves, especially abaxially, have been treated as Q. agrifolia var. oxyadenia.

This species reportedly hybridizes with Quercus kelloggii and Q. wislizenii.

The Mahuna used Quercus agrifolia medicinally to heal the bleeding navel of a newborn (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. Lobatae
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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Q. pedunculata Q. acroglandis, Q. agrifolia var. oxyadenia, Q. pricei
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753) Nee.: Anales Ci. Nat. 3: 271. (1801)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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