''Quercus vacciniifolia'' (sometimes spelled ''Q. vaccinifolia''), the huckleberry oak, is a member of the ''Protobalanus'' section of genus ''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

''. It has

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

foliage, short

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

s, very bitter

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s that mature in 18 months, and a woolly acorn shell interior.

Description

''Quercus vacciniifolia'' is a shrubby

of the oak family, which grows generally less than tall and spreads horizontally, never becoming a tree. In the field, it is best identified from its clustered terminal buds, which is characteristic of all plants of the genus. Species are more easily identified in the presence of

s. Acorns of ''Q. vacciniifolia'' mature in 2 years (biennial maturation) after pollination. Flowers and inflorescence characteristics are not used to significant extend in this

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. ''Q. vacciniifolia'' can be easily confused with '' Q. cedrosensis'', which grows in dry chaparrals, such as California-Mexico border south, forests of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

and at higher elevations on

Cedros Island Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which include ...

.Kevin C. Nixon (2002) ''The Oak (Quercus) Biodiversity of California and Adjacent Regions'', USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-184. Morphologically, the two species differ in their leaf margins: while ''Q. vacciniifolia'' leaves are entire to mucro-toothed, ''Q. cedrosensis leaves'' are entire or have irregular spine-tipped teeth.

Distribution and habitat

''Quercus vacciniifolia'' is native to the western United States, where it can be found in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where its distribution extends just into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

and southern

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

as far north as southern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It grows in high mountain forests. It also dominates sections of mountain

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

. The species can be found in steep slopes, ridges, conifer forests, and sub-alpine forest, mostly in high montane area at altitudes of . It is native to California, but can also be found in Oregon and Nevada. Hybridization between ''Q. vacciniifolia'' and ''Q. chrysolepis'' has been extensively reported in

. Between the early and middle

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

, 11,000 and 5,000 cal years BP, ''Q. vacciniifolia'' were an extensive shrub in the

(at the northern portions of California), which had ultramafic soils. At this period, ''Q. vacciniifolia'' was a main fire developer due to its abundance, mid-height and resinous leaves. Today, ''Q. vacciniifolia'' rarely forms dense chaparral-like stands, allowing fire resistant species to grow intermittently.R. Scott Anderson. '' Holocene Forest Development and Paleoclimates within the Central Sierra Nevada, California''. (1990) Journal of Ecology (1990), 78. p470-489.

Ecology

Many animal species use this

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

for food, including

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, which eat the leaves, and many birds and mammals, including the

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

, which eat the acorns.

Uses

The ''Quercus vacciniifolia'' plant is used in

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a lan ...

, and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...

. It is good for preventing

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

, such as on the slopes above

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

to slow the erosion that pollutes the lake.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3414216 vacciniifolia Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Nevada Flora of the Klamath Mountains Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Plants described in 1873 Flora without expected TNC conservation status