About

Quercus dumosa, commonly known as Nuttall's scrub oak or coastal sage scrub oak, is a species of scrub oak belonging to the white oak group (subgenus Quercus, section Quercus). It is a shrub typically reaching heights of 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft), characterized by a scraggly and rounded appearance, with dense tangled reddish branches, small dark green leaves with distinct teeth, curly trichomes on the lower leaf surfaces, and narrow acute acorns.

Native to the United States and Mexico, it is a rare species found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub on sandy soils often within sight of the ocean, and is found in disjunct populations ranging from Santa Barbara County, California south to the vicinity of Punta Colonet, Baja California.

Where it grows

Quercus dumosa 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 co-dominates with Ceanothus species as early as four years after a fire. This oak also does well in the absence of fire.

Other Quercus plants

Quercus acatenangensis · Mapleleaf oak · Quercus acherdophylla · Quercus acrodonta · Quercus aculcingensis · Red Wood Evergreen Oak · Quercus acutangula · Quercus acutifolia · Sawtooth oak · Quercus aerea · African Oak · Quercus affinis