Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides

Tanoak shrub

Family: Fagaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Tanoak shrub is a California native shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada in mixed-conifer and red-fir forest at elevations of 600 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small, clustered flowers in subtle cream or greenish tones. Growing with dense, rounded form reaching 1 to 3 meters tall, it forms thick, multi-stemmed clusters with rough, dark bark. Its leathery leaves are dark green, broadly lance-shaped, 3 to 5 centimeters long and 10 to 30 millimeters wide, with distinctive serrated edges and a tough, somewhat bristly texture.

Habitat: Mixed-conifer and red-fir forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 600-2000 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, SN

California counties: Del Norte, Trinity, Shasta, El Dorado, Placer, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Mariposa, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Sierra, Yuba, Nevada, Butte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.