Quercus agrifolia, Coast Live Oak (23)

In California in general, the Coast Live Oak thrives in coastal areas, from sea level to about 5000 feet. It has a tolerance for high winds, salty air, and coastal storms that other oaks lack. It can sometimes create surreal environments: Robert Luis Stevenson said that, combined with fog and howling winds, the Coast Live Oak formed “woods for murderers to crawl among” (Pavlik et al, 1991).

The Coast Live Oak is uniquely shaped. It has gnarled, meandering branches with dense foliage. The tree’s bark begins smooth and gray and becomes furrowed and brown with age. The leaves are highly effective photosynthetic organs. They are small, thick, and waxy to prevent water loss and maximize heat dispersion. They are oval, convex, and have spiny margins. The Coast Live Oak produces its small to medium sized conical acorns almost twice as fast as other oak trees produce theirs (Pavlik et al, 1991).

The Coast Live Oak was an important source of food for the Native Californians (Stuart and Sawyer, 2001). Europeans, on the other hand, saw the tree as useless except as a fuel source. Its gnarled shape prevented its use as a timber tree, and even if it were straight and true, the wood was not of the best quality. But they still cut plenty of them down, primarily to clear the land for agriculture and ranching (and then they had plenty of fire wood) (Pavlik et al, 1991).