Garry Oak
Mature Garry Oak
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae Genus: Quercus Section: Quercus Species: Q. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There The Fagales are an order of Flowering plants including some of the best known Trees The order name is derived from Genus Fagus The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both Evergreen and Deciduous trees and shrubs which are characterized by alternate 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 This is an incomplete list of Quercus Species. The Genus contains about 400 species garryana
Binomial name
Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook.

The Garry Oak (Quercus garryana), also known as Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak, has a range from southern California to extreme southwestern British Columbia, particularly southeastern Vancouver Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands. David Douglas ( June 25, 1799 &ndash July 12, 1834) was a Scottish Botanist. Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS ( July 6, 1785 &mdash August 12, 1865) was an English botanist. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British The Gulf Islands are the Islands in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia It grows from sea level to 210 m altitude in the northern part of its range, and at 300-1800 m in the south of the range in California. The tree is named after Nicholas Garry, deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1822-35.

A Garry oak grove

There are three varieties:

• Quercus garryana 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 garryana – tree to 20 (30) m. British Columbia south along the Cascades to the California Coast Ranges.
• Quercus garryana var. breweri – shrub to 5 m; leaves velvety underneath. Siskiyou Mountains.
• Quercus garryana var. semota – shrub to 5 m; leaves not velvety underneath. Sierra Nevada.

It is a drought tolerant tree, typically of medium height, growing slowly to around 20m (occasionally as high as 30m) or as a shrub to 3-5 m tall. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree It has the characteristic oval profile of other oaks when solitary, but is also known to grow in groves close enough together that crowns may form a canopy. 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 leaves are deciduous, 5-15 cm long and 2-8 cm broad, with 3-7 deep lobes on each side. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including The flowers are catkins, the fruit a small acorn 2-3 cm (rarely 4 cm) long and 1. 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 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 5-2 cm broad, with shallow, scaly cups.

The Oregon White Oak is commonly found in the Willamette Valley hosting the mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens. The Willamette Valley () is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic Plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the It is also commonly found hosting a green or yellow ball of up to 5 cm in size, attached to the underside of some of the leaves. This abnormal growth (a gall) is formed by the oak around a colony of wormlike larvae belonging to one of several species of tiny wasps. A wasp is any Insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a Bee nor Ant. The most common species responsible for these galls is Cynips maculipennis. The Garry oak is the only known foodplant of Bucculatrix zophopasta caterpillars. Caterpillars are the Larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera (the Insect order comprising butterflies and Moths

History and uses

Gall on Garry oak, Sonoma County

Before the European settlers came into the Willamette Valley, the oaks were mostly open-grown individual trees due to the burning practices of the native Calapuya people (wildfires are almost unknown in the Willamette Valley). A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there often to colonize the area The Kalapuya (also Kalapuyan, Kalapooian, Calapooya, Calapooia) are a Native American Ethnic group and are members of the Since the settlers did not continue this practice, the intervening land was soon covered with seedling oaks (called "scrub oaks" by the settlers) which grew vertically and formed a closed canopy. Remnants of the old open-grown oaks are still found in these closed oak stands.

Although the wood has a beautiful grain, it is difficult to season without warping and therefore the Garry Oak has not historically been regarded as having any commercial value and is frequently destroyed as land is cleared for development. However, Garry Oaks and their ecosystems are the focus of conservation efforts, including in communities such as Oak Bay, British Columbia, which is named after the tree, and Corvallis, Oregon. Oak Bay is a Municipality in the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada Corvallis (kɔrˈvælɪs is a City located in central western Oregon, United States. ^[1] Moreover, recently the wood, which is similar to that of other white oaks, has been used experimentally in Oregon for creating casks in which to age wine. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs This is an incomplete list of Quercus Species. The Genus contains about 400 species Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. An aging barrel is a barrel used to age Wine or distilled spirits such as Whiskey, Brandy, or Rum.

References and notes

Cited references

General references

• Flora of North America: Quercus garryana
• Plants of British Columbia: Quercus garryana
• Jepson Flora Project: Quercus garryana
• Garry Oak Ecosystem – Province of British Columbia - Ministry of Environment [PDF]