California Scrub Oak

Photo by en:Geographer on Wikimedia

Quercus berberidifolia

Some might consider Scrub Oak the least attractive oak on my list, but it provides food for birds, butterflies, and deer, and is super resilient! It is more shrub-shaped than tree-shaped, but if you have one in your yard, you can remove the lower branches to reveal the trunk.

Like other Oaks, it produces acorns. The Scrub Oaks’ acorns are tiny and round. You can also often find galls on these oaks. These are round, brown growths that are produced when certain species of wasps lay their eggs in the stem. Scrub Oaks are also a host plant for a number of butterflies and wasps, including one of my favorites, the California Sister!

California Scrub Oaks grow in coastal mountain ranges, inland valleys, and foothills. It is an evergreen, so in the fall and winter, when other parts of the world are brown, California retains some green, thanks in part to this versatile Oak!

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