Quercus dumosa

Quercus dumosa
Coastal sage scrub oak
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Species: Q. dumosa
Binomial name
Quercus dumosa
Nutt.

Quercus dumosa is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. This tree goes by the common names coastal sage scrub oak,[2] Nuttall's scrub oak, and California scrub oak.[3]

Distribution

Quercus dumosa is found in Mexico and the U.S. state of California. It is threatened by habitat loss. The species Quercus dumosa lends its name to the eponymous plant community Quercus dumosa chaparral, in which Coastal sage scrub oak and toyon often co-dominate in chaparral.[4]

Botanical characteristics

This plant is an evergreen shrub growing 1 to 3 meters tall from a large, deep root network. The leaves have spiny or toothed edges. The fruit is an acorn up to 1.5 centimeters wide. Some individuals produce large crops of acorns, and some produce very few fruits. The acorns are dispersed by gravity as the fall from the tree, and by animals that pick them up, such as squirrels and jays. Animals eat them immediately or cache them for later. The acorns tend to germinate easily. Reproduction via seed generally occurs only in very moist years.[3]

Ecology

This oak grows primarily in sandy soils such as sandstone near the coast. Its habitat is often chaparral. This oak sprouts vigorously from its stump and root crown after wildfire and develops a large canopy within a few years after a fire event. It sometimes codominates with Ceanothus species as early as four years after a fire. This oak also does well in the absence of fire.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ K. Nixon et al. (1998) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Quercus dumosa . accessed 17 January, 2012.
  2. ↑ USDA, 2008
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 USDA FS FEIS. Tirmenstein, D. 1989. Fire Effects Information System: SPECIES: Quercus berberidifolia, Q. dumosa. — U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  4. ↑ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Toyon: Heteromeles arbutifolia, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg.

External links

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