drenshaw's Identifications

Small group of highly confusing oaks. Mature trees to 20 feet tall, but have ridiculously vicious leaf-spines on all the leaves. Characters seem to put them in the Intermediate Oaks, which, for the SC Mtns region, would make it canyon oak, Q. chrysolepis.

But the leaf-spines, which are far more needle-like than any we can find on Q. chrysolepis in the SC Mtns, in combo with the roundish, wavy leaves and warble-edged acorn cups suggest Q. palmeri. Even the branching pattern and bark seem similar to palmeri.

But the nearest occurrences of Q. palmeri are in the East Bay in Sunol. Nor are there any other known Q. chrysolepis on the preserve for a localized comparison.

Oaks!