Quercus wislizeni


Quercus wislizeni, known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It generally occurs in foothills, being most abundant in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, but also widespread in the Pacific Coast Ranges ─ where since 1980 it has been known as a separate species Quercus parvula ─ and the San Gabriel Mountains. It was named for its collector, Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus.

Description

It is a large shrub or tree growing to tall, although where it is common in the low elevation Sierra foothills it seldom exceeds. The dark-green leaves ─ appearing grayish from a distance ─ are usually small, long, thick, and often spiny-toothed at higher elevations, particularly on young trees. The male flowers are on catkins, the female flowers in leaf axils. The acorns are long, and mature the second season after flowering.

Nomenclature

Although originally published by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle as "wislizeni", some sources, e.g., Jensen in Flora of North America, mistakenly spelled the specific epithet "wislizenii." Correct spelling is with one "i," per ICN article 60C.2. Wislizenus' specimen was thought by de Candolle to have been collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. However, German-born American botanist Georg Engelmann later corrected the location to the American fork of the Sacramento River near Auburn, California.
California physician and botanist Albert Kellogg described an oak in an 1855 publication as Quercus arcoglandis, apparently the same species as Q. wislizeni. This clearly predates French-Swiss botanist de Candolle's 1864 name, and if confirmed to be this same taxon would have priority. More investigation is needed to resolve this taxonomic conflict.
Currently there are two recognized varieties of interior live oak:
The interior live oak is a red oak in the California Floristic Province. Q. wislizeni hybridizes with California black oak '. All California red oaks show evidence of introgression and/or hybridization with one another.
A common alliant tree is gray pine '.

Uses

Deer browse the tree's foliage. Humans use the wood as a fuel source.