Quercus kelloggii, California Black Oak (21)

However, the tree in the image is in the UC Botanical Garden. Unlike the live oaks, which keep their leaves year around, and drought deciduous oaks, which loose their leaves in times of high water stress, the Black Oak, looses its leaves each fall in a tremendous sea of color. One of the best places to observe these colors is Yosemite Valley, where Black Oaks are mixed with other broad leaved and coniferous trees. Set against the spectacular geologic background, the Black Oaks form splashes of yellow, orange, and sometimes even red.

It is the bark, not the leaves, of the Black Oak that is black. Young trees have gray bark, but it darkens with age. The bark is deeply furrowed. The trees grow up to 80 feet in height and have dark green, lobed leaves with bristles at their tips.

The Native Californians considered the acorn of the Black Oak to be the best tasting acorn (Pavlik et al, 1991). Like other acorns, however, it had to be leached of the tannin held inside the acorn before it could be eaten. The Native Californians also used the wood of the Black Oak. They carved utensils from the smaller branches, and some tribes used the stout and very strong main trunks as support for their structures. The Europeans who came to California took advantage of the dense wood for construction, and it is still used today.

The Black Oak can be found in diverse montane forests mixed with other broad leaved and coniferous trees (Pavlik et al, 1991). It ranges from southern California to Oregon in both the coastal and inland mountain ranges.