14 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



CALIFORNIA BLACK OAK 

 Quercus kelloggii Newb. — Beech Family (Fagaceae) 



Park visitors should have no diffi- 

 culty recognizing this tree. It is not 

 only one of the most distinctive and 

 beautiful trees in the park, but in its 

 resemblance to the eastern black oak 

 it possesses many of the characters 

 typical of the oak group with which 

 most people are familiar. It grows on 

 benches and valley bottoms in dry, 

 gravelly to sandy soils, from 3,000 

 to 5,000 feet above sea level. It is one 

 of the most common trees on the floor 

 of Yosemite Valley where it forms 

 picturesque groves of great charm 

 and beauty. Here in autumn the rich 

 color of its foliage, which ranges from 

 tawny yellow to rich golden brown, 

 is a highlight of that season. Upon 



unfolding in the spring the leaves are 

 pink and velvety, soon changing to 

 a glossy green as they develop to 

 about four or five inches in length 

 with the advent of summer. The under 

 side of the leaves is a lighter green 

 than the upper surface. They are 

 borne alternate on the branches, 

 are thin and deeply cleft into about 

 seven lobes, each with one to four 

 bristle-tipped teeth. 



The trunk is generally short and 

 massive and free of limbs for only 

 about ten to twenty feet above the 

 ground. Large, heavy limbs branch- 

 ing from the trunk form a broad, 

 spreading, open, rounded crown. The 

 bark on old trunks and the base of 



Pholo by Bruckmtn 



Folidgi- and acnrtn of black oak {huh st/iiarcs on haikgroiinJ) 



