California Black Oak
Encyclopedia
Quercus kelloggii, the California Black Oak, also known as simply Black Oak, or Kellogg Oak, is an oak
in the red oak section (Quercus sect. Lobatae), native to western North America
. It is a close relative of the Black Oak (Quercus velutina) found in eastern and central North America
.
tree
growing in mixed evergreen forests
, oak woodlands
, and Coniferous forests. California Black Oak is distributed along foothills and lower mountains of California
and southern Oregon
.
It is found from Lane County, Oregon
, south through the Cascade Range
, the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast
, Transverse, and Peninsular
ranges to San Diego County, California
and into Baja California
. The tree occurs in pure or mixed stands. Pure stands usually indicate sites unfavorable to conifer growth or recurring disturbance such as fire or logging activities. The tree can grow in many types of soils, but it is important that the soil be well-drained.
by scrub-oak form on poor sites. In open areas the crown is broad and rounded, with lower branches nearly touching the ground or forming a browse line. In closed stands, the crown is narrow and slender in young trees and irregularly broad in old trees. Trunks are usually free of branches on the lower 6-12 m (20-40 ft) in closed stands. Trunks are often forked, and usually decayed and hollow in older trees. The bark is thin and smooth in young trees, becoming thick, ridged, and plate-like with age. This oak grows from one to several vertical roots which penetrate to bedrock, with large, laterally spreading roots extending off from vertical ones. It also has a number of surface roots.
Acorn
s are relatively large in this species, from 2.5-3 cm (1-1.2 in) long and 1.5-1.8 cm (0.6-0.7 in) wide. The deeply lobed leaves are typically 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long. While individual trees generally have a lifespan between 100 and 200 years, California black oak can live up to 500 years of age.
The tree reproduces when its acorns sprout to form seedlings. It also reproduces vegetatively
with new growth sprouting from the root crown after the tree is top-killed by wildfire
, logging
, frost
, or other events.
for food and cover in California forests and rangelands, and California Black Oak occupies more total area in California than any other hardwood species. Livestock also make heavy use of this species for food and cover.
Cavities in the trees provide den or nest sites for owl
s, various woodpecker
s, tree squirrel
s, and American Black Bear
s. Trees provide valuable shade for livestock and wildlife during the hot summer months. California Black Oak forest types are heavily used for spring, summer, and fall cover by Black Bear.
It is browsed by Mule Deer
and livestock. Acorns are heavily utilized by livestock, Mule Deer, feral pig
s, rodents, Mountain Quail
, Steller's Jay
, and woodpecker
s. Acorns constitute an average of 50% of the fall and winter diets of Western Gray Squirrel
and Black-tailed Deer
during good mast years. Fawn survival rates increase or decrease with the size of the acorn crop.
It is a preferred foraging substrate for many birds. All of 68 bird species observed in oak woodlands of the Tehachapi Mountains
of California used California black oak for part of their foraging activities. Acorn Woodpecker
, Bullock's Oriole
, and Nashville Warbler
show strong preference for California Black Oak. The parasitic plant
Pacific mistletoe
(Phoradendron villosum), which commonly grows on this oak, produces berries which attract birds as well.
Many animals cache the acorns, and acorns that have been stored in the ground or otherwise buried are more likely to sprout than those that remain on the surface.
The tree is adapted to wildfire. It is protected from smaller fires by its thick bark. If it is top-killed and burned away in a larger fire, it easily resprouts and has a good supply of nutrients and water stored in its root system. Acorns sprout into seedlings after fire and sites that have been cleared of canopy and leaf litter in fires are ideal for seedling success.
This oak is vulnerable to sudden oak death
.
preferred California Black Oak acorns over those of other species for making acorn meal. This acorn was a staple food
for many Native American groups. Native Americans recognized the importance of fire to this oak, and purposely lit fires in oak woodlands to promote its health and ensure their food source.
The wood
is used for making furniture, pallet
s, and construction timber. It is used as an ornamental tree
.
It was long considered by foresters and government agencies as a weed tree. In its earlier years, its only use was to feed the boilers of donkey engines bringing in the valuable pine and fir logs. There was a period in the mid 1960's when U.S. Forest Service policy in California's National Forests for the California black oak was systematic extermination by girdling the trees. The objective was to make room for more coniferous growth. In the rush to utilize the pines, firs and redwoods, the dense hardwoods were looked on with contempt. Like a few other visionaries in the 1960s, Guy Hall thought the California Black Oak presented a beautiful challenge that deserved better than eradication. In 1965 Hall convinced federal agencies to cease their extermination polices.
Plantation
s of California Black Oak have been successfully established in clearcuts from acorn plantings. Thinning such stands promotes stand productivity and wood quality, and is recommended when trees are from 9-15 m (30-50 ft) tall or when stand density (basal area) exceeds 29 m²/ha (125 ft²/acre). This tree has also been managed for hardwood production by maintaining scattered pure stands within coniferous forests. Stands of this species will often establish on poorer sites, where conifer seedling establishment has not been successful.
trade as an ornamental tree for native plant
, drought tolerant water conserving, and habitat gardens, and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape and restoration projects.
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
in the red oak section (Quercus sect. Lobatae), native to western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is a close relative of the Black Oak (Quercus velutina) found in eastern and central North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Distribution and habitat
California Black Oak is a deciduousDeciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
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 trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing in mixed evergreen forests
California mixed evergreen forest
California mixed evergreen forest is an ecoregion, of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, that occurs in the Pacific Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and California, and in the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in California...
, oak woodlands
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
, and Coniferous forests. California Black Oak is distributed along foothills and lower mountains of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
It is found from Lane County, Oregon
Lane County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...
, south through the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
, the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast
Pacific Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
, Transverse, and Peninsular
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
ranges to San Diego County, California
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
and into Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. The tree occurs in pure or mixed stands. Pure stands usually indicate sites unfavorable to conifer growth or recurring disturbance such as fire or logging activities. The tree can grow in many types of soils, but it is important that the soil be well-drained.
Description
Quercus kelloggii typically grows from 9-25 m (30-80 ft) in height and from 0.3-1.4 m (1-4.5 ft) in diameter. Large trees may exceed 36 m (120 ft) in height and 1.6 m (5 ft) diameter. The species also grows in shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
by scrub-oak form on poor sites. In open areas the crown is broad and rounded, with lower branches nearly touching the ground or forming a browse line. In closed stands, the crown is narrow and slender in young trees and irregularly broad in old trees. Trunks are usually free of branches on the lower 6-12 m (20-40 ft) in closed stands. Trunks are often forked, and usually decayed and hollow in older trees. The bark is thin and smooth in young trees, becoming thick, ridged, and plate-like with age. This oak grows from one to several vertical roots which penetrate to bedrock, with large, laterally spreading roots extending off from vertical ones. It also has a number of surface roots.
Acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s are relatively large in this species, from 2.5-3 cm (1-1.2 in) long and 1.5-1.8 cm (0.6-0.7 in) wide. The deeply lobed leaves are typically 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long. While individual trees generally have a lifespan between 100 and 200 years, California black oak can live up to 500 years of age.
The tree reproduces when its acorns sprout to form seedlings. It also reproduces vegetatively
Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
with new growth sprouting from the root crown after the tree is top-killed by wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
, or other events.
Ecology
The California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii, is a critical species for wildlife. Oaks (Quercus spp.) may be the single most important genus used by wildlifeWildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
for food and cover in California forests and rangelands, and California Black Oak occupies more total area in California than any other hardwood species. Livestock also make heavy use of this species for food and cover.
Cavities in the trees provide den or nest sites for owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, various woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
s, tree squirrel
Tree squirrel
Tree squirrels include over a hundred species that are found on all continents except Antarctica, and are the members of the squirrel family most commonly referred to as "squirrels"...
s, and American Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s. Trees provide valuable shade for livestock and wildlife during the hot summer months. California Black Oak forest types are heavily used for spring, summer, and fall cover by Black Bear.
It is browsed by Mule Deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
and livestock. Acorns are heavily utilized by livestock, Mule Deer, feral pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, rodents, Mountain Quail
Mountain Quail
The Mountain Quail, , is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. This species is the only one in the genus Oreortyx, which is sometimes included in Callipepla...
, Steller's Jay
Steller's Jay
The Steller's Jay is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the Blue Jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the Long-crested Jay, Mountain Jay, and Pine Jay...
, and woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
s. Acorns constitute an average of 50% of the fall and winter diets of Western Gray Squirrel
Western Gray Squirrel
The Western Gray Squirrel is an arboreal rodent found along the western coast of the United States and Canada.In some places, this species has also been known as the Silver-gray Squirrel, the California Gray Squirrel, the Oregon Gray Squirrel, the Columbian Gray Squirrel and the Banner-tail...
and Black-tailed Deer
Black-tailed Deer
Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...
during good mast years. Fawn survival rates increase or decrease with the size of the acorn crop.
It is a preferred foraging substrate for many birds. All of 68 bird species observed in oak woodlands of the Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
of California used California black oak for part of their foraging activities. Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
The Acorn woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, 21 cm long with an average weight of 85 g.-Description:...
, Bullock's Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
The Bullock's Oriole, , is a small New World blackbird. At one time, this species and the Baltimore Oriole were considered to be a single species, the Northern Oriole...
, and Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler
The Nashville Warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, is a small songbird in the New World warbler family.They have olive-brown upperparts, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast; they have a white eye ring, no wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Adult males have a grey head with a rusty crown patch ;...
show strong preference for California Black Oak. The parasitic plant
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
Pacific mistletoe
Phoradendron villosum
Phoradendron villosum is a species of flowering plant in the sandalwood family known by the common names Pacific mistletoe and oak mistletoe...
(Phoradendron villosum), which commonly grows on this oak, produces berries which attract birds as well.
Many animals cache the acorns, and acorns that have been stored in the ground or otherwise buried are more likely to sprout than those that remain on the surface.
The tree is adapted to wildfire. It is protected from smaller fires by its thick bark. If it is top-killed and burned away in a larger fire, it easily resprouts and has a good supply of nutrients and water stored in its root system. Acorns sprout into seedlings after fire and sites that have been cleared of canopy and leaf litter in fires are ideal for seedling success.
This oak is vulnerable to sudden oak death
Sudden oak death
Sudden Oak Death is the common name of a disease caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. The disease kills oak and other species of tree and has had devastating effects on the oak populations in California and Oregon as well as also being present in Europe...
.
Uses
California Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
preferred California Black Oak acorns over those of other species for making acorn meal. This acorn was a staple food
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
for many Native American groups. Native Americans recognized the importance of fire to this oak, and purposely lit fires in oak woodlands to promote its health and ensure their food source.
The wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is used for making furniture, pallet
Pallet
A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...
s, and construction timber. It is used as an ornamental tree
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
.
Timber
California Black Oak comprises a total volume of 29% of California's hardwood timber resources, and is the major hardwood sawn into lumber there. The total estimated area of species occurrence is 361,800 ha (3,618 km² or 894,000 acres); 239,200 ha (2,392 km² or 591,000 acres) of timberland and 122,600 ha (1,226 km² or 303,000 acres) of woodland. Of this land 60% is privately owned, 31% is in National Forests, and 9% is on other public lands. It has greatly decreased from its historic abundance. This is due to a number of factors, including drought, disease, animal foraging, logging practices, fire suppression, and a variety of other human impacts. Cutting green trees for fuelwood has contributed to the decline of this species, and illegal harvesting of green trees from public lands is a continuing problem.It was long considered by foresters and government agencies as a weed tree. In its earlier years, its only use was to feed the boilers of donkey engines bringing in the valuable pine and fir logs. There was a period in the mid 1960's when U.S. Forest Service policy in California's National Forests for the California black oak was systematic extermination by girdling the trees. The objective was to make room for more coniferous growth. In the rush to utilize the pines, firs and redwoods, the dense hardwoods were looked on with contempt. Like a few other visionaries in the 1960s, Guy Hall thought the California Black Oak presented a beautiful challenge that deserved better than eradication. In 1965 Hall convinced federal agencies to cease their extermination polices.
Plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s of California Black Oak have been successfully established in clearcuts from acorn plantings. Thinning such stands promotes stand productivity and wood quality, and is recommended when trees are from 9-15 m (30-50 ft) tall or when stand density (basal area) exceeds 29 m²/ha (125 ft²/acre). This tree has also been managed for hardwood production by maintaining scattered pure stands within coniferous forests. Stands of this species will often establish on poorer sites, where conifer seedling establishment has not been successful.
Cultivation
Quercus kelloggii is cultivated in the specialty horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
trade as an ornamental tree for native plant
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
, drought tolerant water conserving, and habitat gardens, and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape and restoration projects.
See also
- Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer ForestMediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer ForestMediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest is a major forest association and ecosystem of the California mixed evergreen forest bioregion in certain mountain ranges in California and southern Oregon in the Western United States; and Baja California in Northwest Mexico ...
- (plant association) - California chaparral and woodlandsCalifornia chaparral and woodlandsThe California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
- (ecoregion) - California montane chaparral and woodlandsCalifornia montane chaparral and woodlandsThe California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers , including the mountains of the Transverse, Peninsular, and Santa Lucia Ranges of California. It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
- (sub-ecoregion) - California interior chaparral and woodlandsCalifornia interior chaparral and woodlandsThe California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from to . It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
- (sub-ecoregion)