FAGACE^E 271 



tubular cup '-1' deep, or rarely cup-shaped and shallow, light green and puberulous within, 

 and covered by oblong lanceolate light brown closely imbricated thin scales, sometimes 

 toward the base of the cup thickened and rounded on the back, usually pubescent or pu- 

 berulous, especially above the middle, and frequently ciliate on the margins. 



A tree, usually 70-80 high, with a short trunk 4-6 in diameter, stout spreading 

 branches forming a round-topped head, and slender rigid branchlets coated at first with 

 hoary tomentum or covered with scattered fascicled hairs, puberulous or glabrous and 

 rather light brown during their first season, gradually growing darker in their second 

 year; usually much smaller and sometimes reduced to an intricately branched shrub, with 

 numerous stems only a few feet tall. Winter-buds ovoid or oval, acute, |'-j' long, with 

 closely imbricated light chestnut-brown ciliate scales. Bark on young trees and large 

 branches thin, generally smooth and light-colored, becoming on old trunks 2'-3' thick, 

 and divided into broad rounded often connected ridges separating on the surface into 

 small thick closely appressed dark brown scales slightly tinged with red. Wood heavy, 

 very hard, strong, close-grained, light brown tinged with red, with thick lighter colored 

 sapwood; sometimes used for fuel. 



Distribution. Lower slopes of Mt. Shasta southward through the coast region of 

 California to the Santa Lucia Mountains, and to Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, 

 and along the slopes of the Sierra Nevada to Kern County, up to altitudes of 2000 at the 

 north and of 4500 at the south; as a shrub 4-6 high with small thick leaves (var. fru- 

 tescens Engelm.) on the desert slopes of the San Bernardino, San Ja^cinto and Cuyamaca 

 mountains, at altitudes of 5000-7000 above the sea, and on San Pedro Martir in Lower 

 California; nowhere common as a tree, but most abundant and of its largest size in the 

 valleys of the coast region of central California at some distance from the sea, and on the 

 foothills of the Sierra Nevada; very common as a shrub in the canons of the desert 

 slopes of the mountains of southern California; near the coast and on the islands small and 

 mostly shrubby. 



X Quercus morehus, Kell., a supposed hybrid between Quercus Wislizenii and Q. Kellog- 

 gii occurs in Lake County, California. 



24. Quercus myrtifolia Willd. 



Leaves oval to oblong-obovate, acute and apiculate or broad and rounded at apex, 

 gradually narrowed and cuneate or broad and rounded or cordate at base, entire, with 



Fig. 248 



much thickened revolute sometimes undulate margins, or on vigorous shoots sinuate-den- 

 tate and lobed above the middle, when they unfold, thin, dark red, coated below and on the 



