1306 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



QUERCUS LOBATA, Californian Valley Oak 



Quercus lobata, N&, Ann. Cienc. Nat. iii. 277 (1801); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. viii. 23, t. 362 



(1895), ^nd Trees N. Amer. 261 (1905). 

 Quercus Hindsii, Bentham, Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 55 (1844). 

 Quercus long'tglanda, Frdmont, Geograph. Mem. Upper California, 15, 17 (1848). 



A tree, attaining in California 100 to 130 ft. in height, with a trunk often 12 ft. 

 and occasionally 20 to 30 ft. in girth. Bark about an inch thick, with small loosely 

 appressed scales. Young branchlets slender, minutely pubescent. Buds ovoid, acute, 

 \ in. long, pubescent. Leaves (Plate 336, Fig. 30) deciduous in autumn, 2 to 3 in. 

 long, I to i^ in. broad, obovate or oblong, cuneate or rounded at the base, obtuse at 

 the apex, with seven to eleven lobes, separated by sinuses of varying depth, the 

 lateral lobes truncate or bidentate at their broad apex or triangular-ovate ; upper 

 surface dark green, with scattered minute stellate pubescence ; lower surface paler, 

 with denser similar pubescence ; margin ciliate ; petiole \^o\ in. long, pubescent. 



Fruit ripening in the first year, sub-sessile, solitary or in pairs ; acorns conical, 

 elongated, i to 2 in. in length ; cupule hemispheric, tomentose, the scales towards 

 the base thickened and tuberculate, the others with long acute ciliate tips, the upper- 

 most forming a fringe-like margin to the cupule. 



This splendid tree is found in the valleys of western California, between the 

 Sierra Nevada and the ocean, from the upper Sacramento to Tejon Pass. Alone or 

 mixed with Q. Wislizeni and Q. Douglasii, it forms large open park-like groves. 

 The Ukiah valley a few years ago was a vast forest of oaks, many of which still 

 survive and are of a large size, Carl Purdy^ having measured here in 1897 one tree 

 132 ft. high and 23 ft. 9 in. in girth, and another 120 ft. by 19^ ft. A heavy rainfall, 

 rich soil, and sheltered situation have produced these surprising dimensions, un- 

 equalled by any other oaks on the Pacific Slope. Mr. Shinn^ describes and 

 figures a grove near Visalia, about 150 acres in extent, with trees 55 to 94 ft. in 

 height and II to 15 ft. in girth. These grow on a heavy alluvial soil, rich in alkaline 

 salts. Hilyard ^ also notices the growth of this tree on slightly alkaline soil, as in the 

 delta lands of the Kaweah valley, where it forms a dense forest. 



Mr. F. R. S. Balfour tells us that these oaks are the most conspicuous landmarks 

 in the great central valleys of Sacramento and San Joaquin. They now stand 

 solitary and stately in the vast expanse of wheat and barley in the grain tracts of 

 Fresno, Merced, and other counties, which are now under cultivation. These 

 trees were left to give shade in former times, when these districts were devoted 

 to cattle-raising. The wood is remarkably brittle, and can only be used for firewood. 



The date of introduction into Europe is uncertain; but Koch* had seen 



^ In Garden and Forest, .. 52, fig. 8 (,897). 2 ^^^ ,. ,^2, figs. 25, 26 (1897). 



' ibz/f, 480 (1906). 1 ,^ , , . .. „ 



* ^ ' * Dendrologie, u. 2, p. 54 (1873). 



