evergreen shrub commonly 3 to 6, but occasionally as much as 10 feet high, 

 and forms dense thickets or large clumps over extensive areas. The species 

 ranges from southern California and northern Lower California through 

 southern Nevada and southern Utah, to New Mexico and possibly also 

 in northern Chihuahua and Sonora. Shrub live oak is a drought-resistant 

 species that inhabits the dry hillsides and mesas on sandy, gravelly, or 

 rocky soils, chiefly at elevations of from 4,000 to 6,500 feet. It is common in 

 the semidesert shrub type and extends up into the juniper-pinon, or woodland 

 type; among its most common associates are catclaw, manzanita, mountain- 

 mahogany, squawberry and silktassel. In southern parts of Utah and Nevada, 

 this species occurs in scattered patches, principally in swales and canyons 

 of the lower winter ranges. 



Because of its abundance, its evergreen character, and the fact that it is one 

 of the superior oaks from a palatability standpoint, this species ranks as one 

 of the two or three leading browse oaks of Arizona, 23 if not of the Southwest. 

 Its greatest value as forage comes during a drought emergency when all grasses 

 and weeds have withered beyond use. Even in normal seasons, shrub live oak 

 constitutes the chief reserve supply of winter emergency forage on many ranges 

 of central and southern Arizona. In time of stress, livestock will survive on 

 an almost straight diet of this shrub for a period of several months despite that 

 it is not a balanced feed. 



During normal years, when grass forage is available, shrub live oak is 

 utilized lightly in the chaparral types. However, on slopes exposed to erosion, 

 wise management doubtless would regard the plant as emergency forage only 

 or, in order to protect the grasses and weeds from overgrazing, permit this 

 shrub to be grazed lightly when those herbaceous plants are practically dormant. 

 On grass ranges where shrub live oak occurs as scattered clumps, it is some- 

 times rather closely cropped by cattle and sheep and rates as fairly good 

 browse. Goats graze this oak freely, especially in the winter, and use it more 

 than any other class of livestock. This is particularly true in the chaparral 

 types, as shrub live oak, although attaining a height readily accessible to live- 

 stock, often occurs in dense clumps or thickets of considerable size, which are 

 practically impenetrable to cattle and sheep, but are partially accessible to goats. 

 Thus, in addition to being more palatable to goats, the foliage is also more 

 available to those animals. Deer consume the foliage on considerable scale; 

 the acorns, or mast, are relished by deer, wild turkey, and possibly other wild 

 game, as well as by many small mammals. The acorns formerly were also 

 used as food by the Indians of the Southwest. 



It is probable that large areas of what is now chaparral type were once open 

 brushland which supported a good cover of grasses between scattered brush 

 clumps. As a result of severe and continued overuse, those grasses and other 

 choice forage plants were supplanted by less palatable shrubs, which partly 

 filled in the gaps. In such cases, the brush mantle thus formed, and without 

 the supporting herbaceous cover, although much inferior to the original cover 

 for watershed protection, yet plays an important role as a substitute cover. 

 Proper range management of similar areas should favor the remaining her- 

 baceous plants with the objective of eventually restoring the original, superior 

 vegetative stand (subclimax or climax type). 



Shrub live oak differs from most of the oaks of the white oak group (section, 

 or subgenus Leucobalanus) in that its leaves have spiny-tipped teeth, in marked 

 contrast to the predominantly prickleless leaves of that group. However, it has 

 rather light-colored bark, rather numerous stamens, short blunt anthers, annual 

 acorns with shells hairless within, and other characteristics of the important 

 white oak group. 



3 Griffiths, D. RANGE INVESTIGATIONS IN ARIZONA. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. 

 Bull. 67, 62 pp., illus. 1904. 



8 Thornber, J. J. THE GRAZING RANGES OF ARIZONA. Ariz. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 65 : 

 [245] -360, illus. 1910. 



