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 Coast Live Oak foliage with new spring growth
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| Quercus agrifolia Née |
The Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, native to the California Floristic Province. Luis Née ( fl 1734-1803 was a Franco - Spanish Botanist, who accompanied the Malaspina expedition to the Pacific Ocean In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin The California Floristic Province (CFP is a Floristic province with Mediterranean climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California south to northern Baja California in Mexico. The Sierra Nevada ( Spanish for "Snowy Range" is a Mountain range located in the U Mendocino County is a County located on the north coast of the U California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Baja California (pronounced ˈbɑːhɑː kælɨˈfɔrnjə in English is the northernmost state of Mexico. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. It is classified in the red oak section (Quercus sect. This is an incomplete list of Quercus Species. The Genus contains about 400 species Lobatae).
It typically has a much-branched trunk and reaches a mature height of 10-25 meters. Some specimens may attain an age exceeding 250 years, with trunk diameters up to three or four meters, such as the magnificent specimens on the Filoli estate in San Mateo County. Filoli is a famous American Country house set in sixteen acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654 Acre (2 San Mateo County ( "san muh-TAY-o") ( Spanish for: St The trunk, particularly for older individuals, may be highly contorted, massive and gnarled. The crown is broadly rounded and dense, especially when aged 20 to 70 years; in later life the trunk and branches are more well defined and the leaf density lower.
The leaves are dark green, oval, often convex in shape, 2-7 cm long and 1-4 cm broad; the leaf margin is spiny-toothed, with sharp thistly fibers that extend from the lateral leaf veins. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. The outer layers of leaves are designed for maximum solar absorption, containing two to three layers of photosynthetic cells. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy. These outer leaves are deemed to be small in size to more efficiently re-radiate the heat gained from solar capture. Shaded leaves are generally broader and thinner, having only a single layer of photosynthetic cells. The convex leaf shape may be useful for interior leaves which depend on capturing reflected light scattered in random directions from the outer canopy.
The flowers are produced in early to mid spring; the male flowers are pendulous catkins 5-10 cm long, the female flowers inconspicuous, less than 0. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also A catkin or ament is a slim cylindrical flower cluster with inconspicuous or no petals usually Wind - pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes 5 cm long, with 1-3 clustered together. The fruit is a slender reddish brown acorn 2-3. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The acorn is the nut of the Oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the 5 cm long and 1-1. 5 cm broad, with the basal quarter enclosed in a cupule; unusually for a red oak, the acorns mature about 7-8 months after pollination (most red oak acorns take 18 months to mature). The calybium and the cupule make up the Accessory fruit of Flowering plants in the family Fagaceae.
Several hybrids between Coast Live Oak and other red oak species have been documented. Hybrids with Interior Live Oak (Q. The Interior Live Oak ( Quercus wislizeni) is an evergeen Oak, highly variable and often shrubby found in the large areas of California in the wislizenii) are known in many areas in northern California. Coast live oak also hybridizes with Nuttall's Scrub Oak (Q. dumosa) and Shreve Oak (Q. parvula var. shrevii). All these oak species show evidence of introgression with one another. Introgression, in Genetics (particularly plant genetics is the movement of a Gene ( Gene flow) from one species into the gene pool of another by backcrossing
The name Quercus agrifolia literally means "sharp-leaved oak", not "field-leaved oak" as is sometimes thought, nor is it an error by the describing botanist for "aquifolia", "holly-leaved". This species is sometimes known by the name "California Live Oak".
There are two varieties of Quercus agrifolia:
- Quercus agrifolia var. In Botanical nomenclature or biological nomenclature variety is a low-level Taxonomic rank below that of species and signifies members of different populations can agrifolia. Throughout the range of the species. Leaves that are glabrous to slightly hairy on the abaxial side, especially near the leaf vein axils. Hybrids with Q. kelloggii, Quercus parvula var. shevei, and Q. wislizenii are known.
- Quercus agrifolia var. oxyadenia. Southwesternmost California (San Diego area), Baja California. Leaves that are tomentose abaxially, with densely interwoven hairs. It prefers granitic soils; hybrids with Q. kelloggi known.
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Habitat and ecology
Coast Live Oak is the only California native oak that actually thrives in the coastal environment, although it is rare on the immediate shore; it enjoys the mild winter and summer climate afforded by ocean proximity, and it is somewhat tolerant of aerosol-borne sea salt. The coastal fog supplies further buffering from the rainless California summer heat.
It is the dominant overstory plant of the Coast Live Oak woodland habitat, often joined by California Bay Laurel and California Buckeye north of Big Sur. Ecologically a woodland is an area covered in trees differentiated from a Forest. Umbellularia californica is a Tree native to coastal forests of western North America. Aesculus californica ( California Buckeye or California Horse-chestnut) is a species of buckeye endemic to California Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the central California, United States, coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Associated understory plants include Toyon, various manzanitas and Western Poison-oak. Toyon ( Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a common perennial Shrub native to southwestern California, USA and the extreme The Manzanitas are a subgenus of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen Shrubs or small Trees present in the Chaparral Toxicodendron diversilobum (syn Rhus diversiloba; Western Poison-oak or Pacific Poison-oak) is a plant best known for its ability to cause
Normally the tree is found on well drained soils of coastal hills and plains, often near year round or perennial streams. A perennial stream or perennial river is a Stream or River (channel that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal It may be found in several natural communities including Coast Live Oak woodland, Engelmann Oak woodland, Valley Oak woodland and both northern and southern mixed evergreen forests. The Engelmann Oak ( Quercus engelmannii) also called the Pasadena Oak, is a Species of Oak in the white oak section Quercus The Valley oak (Quercus lobata is the largest of North American oaks While normally found within 100 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean at elevations less than 700 meters, in southern California it occasionally occurs at up to 1,500 meters in altitude. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions
The California Oak Moth (Phryganidia californica) caterpillar subsists entirely on living and fallen leaves of the Coast Live Oak. In 8-10 year cycles, the caterpillar will appear in sufficient abundance to denude healthy trees. The trees recover, and botanists speculate the species provide mutual benefit, possibly in the form of fertilizer for the oak [1]. The Coast Live Oak is also the only known foodplant of Chionodes vanduzeei caterpillars. Caterpillars are the Larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera (the Insect order comprising butterflies and Moths
Uses
At least twelve distinct cultures of Native Americans are known to have consumed the acorns as a dietary staple. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States In the 18th century Spaniards in the San Fernando Valley used the wood for charcoal to fire kilns in making adobe. The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain 's conquest settlement and rule over much of the Western hemisphere. The San Fernando Valley or The Valley is an urbanized Valley located in the north-western section of the city of Los Angeles California, United States Kilns are thermally insulated chambers or Ovens in which controlled temperature regimes are produced Adobe bricks are a Natural building material made from Sand, Clay, water and some kind of fibrous or Organic material ( Sticks, Later this form of charcoal would be utilized in the baking, gunpowder and electric power industries. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes Electric power is defined as the rate at which Electrical energy is transferred by an Electric circuit. In the 18th and 19th centuries shipbuilders sought out the odd angular branches to make special joints. See also Shipbuilding (song. Shipbuilding is the construction of Ships It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a Pioneers moving west would harvest small amounts for making farm implements and wagon wheels, but the greatest impact was the wholesale clearing of oak woodlands to erect sprawling cities such as San Diego and San Francisco. A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there often to colonize the area The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The irregular shape often let the tree escape widespread harvest for building timbers, and also led the early settlers to endow the Coast Live Oak with mystical qualities. Its stateliness has made it a subject of historical landscape painters throughout California modern history since the mid 1800s. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e
Coast Live Oak has also become a common addition to landscaping. Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land including but not limited to living elements, such as It is however sensitive to changes in grading and drainage; in particular, it is important to respect the root crown level and avoid adding soil near the trunk when construction or landscaping occurs. Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land including but not limited to living elements, such as Also, if incorporating it into a landscaping scheme with artificial irrigation, it is important not to water within the oak's rooting area, as wet soil in the summer increases infection rates by soil-borne Phytophthora diseases like sudden oak death. Phytophthora (from Greek phytón “plant” and phthorá “destruction” “the plant-destroyer” is a Genus of plant-damaging Protists Sudden Oak Death is the common name of a disease caused by the Oomycete Plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.
Place names
The Coast Live Oak, especially in its Spanish forms encino or encina, encinitas "little oaks", and encinal "oak grove", gave its name to seven land grants across California and to many communitities and geographic features. These include Rancho Los Encinos, the community of Encino near Los Angeles, Encinitas near San Diego, and Encinal del Temescal, now the city of Oakland. Rancho Los Encinos (also Rancho El Encino and Rancho Encino) was a Spanish grazing concession Cattle and Sheep Ranch Encinitas is a coastal city in northern San Diego County California, United States. Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U [1]
Notes
- ^ Gudde, Erwin, and William Bright, California Place Names, University of California Press, 4th edition, 1998, ISBN 0520213165, p. 123-124
References
- Flora of North America: Quercus agrifolia
- Jepson Flora Project: Quercus agrifolia, var. agrifolia, var. oxyadenia
- Balls, E. K. (1972). Early Uses of California Plants. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Pavlik, B. M. , Muick, P. , Johnson, S. , & Popper, M. (1992). Oaks of California. Cachuma Press ISBN 0-9628505-1-9.
- Sawyer, John O. , & Keeler-Wolf, Todd. (1995) A manual of California Vegetation. California Native Plant Society, page 241.
- Native Plant Information Network More information on Quercus agrifolia
- Las Pilitas: California Oaks
- Virginia Tech Forestry Department: Coast Live Oak
- USDA Plants Database: Quercus agrifolia Née
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