The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Quercus lobata
Also called California White Oak, Roble
A large deciduous oak native to California valleys and foothills, prized for shade and wildlife value. It is a tree for open ground with deep, moist soil, not a container plant, and it needs abundant water to grow well.
Quercus lobata, commonly called the valley oak or roble, is a deciduous oak endemic to California. It is among the largest North American oaks, sometimes exceeding 100 ft in height and developing a broad, spreading crown. It grows in interior valleys and foothills from Siskiyou to San Diego counties, where it is a characteristic species of valley oak woodlands, savannahs and riparian forests. Mature trees have extensive root systems, including deep tap roots capable of reaching buried soil moisture to help it survive California's long, dry Mediterranean summers. It can live for hundreds of years.
The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN as much of its former habitat has been converted to agriculture and urban development, and successful recruitment of young trees is limited in many populations. It has deeply lobed leaves and long, slender acorns.
Valley oak tolerates cool wet winters and hot dry summers, but requires abundant water. It is most abundant in rich deep soils of valley floors below 600 meters (2000 feet) in elevation. Valley oak is found in dense riparian forests, open foothill woodlands and valley savannas. Commonly associated trees are coast live oak, interior live oak, blue oak, California black walnut, California sycamore and gray pine.
The acorns are sweet and edible; Native Americans including the Southern Paiute people roasted them and ground the edible portion into meal to make into bread and mush.
Quercus affinis · Coast Live Oak · White Oak · Golden Oak · Scrub oak · Brant's oak · Turkey Oak · Canyon Live Oak · Scarlet Oak · Daimyo oak · Blue oak · Leather oak
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Quercus lobata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
