CALIFORNIA LIVE OAK 



(Quercus Agrifolia) 



THIS fine western tree belongs to the black oak group, yet its acorns 

 mature in one year, like those of white oaks. It is the only known 

 black oak with that habit. It is properly classed with canyon live oak 

 which has many characteristics of white oak, yet matures its acorns the 

 second year. The two oaks with freakish fruit belong in California, and 

 to some extent occupy the same range. California live oak is apparently 

 making an effort to conform to the habit of other black oaks by produc- 

 ing two year acorns. It has not yet succeeded in doing so, but flowers 

 occasionally appear in the fall, and young acorns set on the twigs. They 

 drop during the winter, and it is not believed that any of them hang till 

 the second season. 



The range of this tree covers most of the California coast region 

 but does not reach the great interior valleys. The tree is very common 

 in the southwestern part of the state. It is called an evergreen, and 

 some individuals deserve that reputation, but the leaves never remain 

 long after the new crop appears. Frequently the old leaves do not wait 

 for the new, and when they drop, the branches remain bare for a few 

 weeks. The form of the leaf is not constant. Some have smooth 

 margins, but the typical leaf is toothed like holly. One of the early 

 names by which the tree was known was holly-leaved oak. The bark 

 looks much like the bark of chestnut oak. It is bought for tanning 

 purposes, but its principal use is to adulterate the bark of another oak 

 (Quercus densiflora). Trees range in height from twenty-five to 

 seventy-five feet, and from one foot to four in diameter. The trunks 

 are very short, and seldom afford clear lengths exceeding eight feet, 

 and often not more than four. Trees generally grow in the open, but 

 when in thickets, the boles lengthen somewhat. They are of slow growth 

 and live to old age. 



The wood is hard and brittle. A cubic foot weighs 51.43 pounds 

 when thoroughly dry. The wood of mature trees is reddish-brown; 

 but young and middle aged trunks are all sapwood, and are white from 

 bark to center. When sapwood is exposed to the ah* a considerable 

 time it changes color and becomes very dark brown. The medullary 

 rays of this oak are broad, fairly numerous, and are darker than the 

 surrounding wood. When the log is quarter-sawed, the exposed flecks 

 of bright surface are the darkest parts. To that extent, it resembles 

 quarter-sawed sycamore, but the woods do not look alike in any other 

 particular. This oak is very porous, and the pores as is usual with live 



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