BROADLEAVED TREES OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



15 



large limbs is dark gray to black in 

 color, hard, rough, and deeply fur- 

 rowed. Small trees and the outer por- 

 tions of larger limbs are character- 

 ized by bark that is smooth and of a 

 dull gray-brown color. Year old twigs 

 are smooth and red to reddish-brown. 

 The buds are alternate on the twigs; 

 and, in addition, are clustered at the 

 tips, are ovoid to conical in shape 

 and covered with numerous five- 

 ranked scales. The leaf scars, moder- 

 ate to small in size, are half round in 

 outline and characterized by nearly 

 a dozen vascular bundle scars ar- 

 ranged more or less in the form of an 

 ellipse. 



One of the most distinctive features 

 of the California black oak are the 

 acorns. These mature at the end of 



the second season and are produced 

 in abundance at intervals of from two 

 to three years. They are one to one 

 and one-half inches long, a pale 

 chestnut in color, and are possessed 

 of a tawny brown, scaly cup. 



Acorns of this tree served as the 

 principal source of food for the In- 

 dians of the area in the early days. 

 They were pounded into coarse flour 

 by the Indian women. Numerous 

 mortar rocks, scattered about the Val- 

 ley, are reminiscent of the original 

 residents of this area since they ore 

 characterized by depressions brought 

 about by that task. California black 

 oak acorns are still gathered and 

 utilized as food to some extent by a 

 few of the older Indian residents of 

 the Yosemite region. 



Pbolo by Ansel Adami 



Oaks on floor of Yosemite Valley 



