California Black Oak
Quercus kelloggii
Oak Family (Fagaceae)

Growth Form: Tree with rounded, open-spreading crown

Flower: Female flowers minute, obscure, near end of branch. Male flowers minute in a pendent catkin.

Fruit: An acorn with a cup covering 1/3 to 2/3 of the nut. Fruit matures within 2 growing seasons.

Leaves: Deciduous; leaves pinnately lobed with each lobe having 1 to 4 bristle tips. Alternate on stem.

Height: 30 to 80 feet

Found: Dry sandy to rocky soils of valleys, foothills, and lower mountain slopes

Tidbits: Popular as stove firewood; occurs in near-pure stands or mixed broadleaf-conifer forests.