Quercus dumosa

Nuttall's scrub oak, Nuttall's Scrub Oak

Family: Fagaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Nuttall's scrub oak is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native shrub found in southern coastal and peninsular regions in sandy coastal areas, sandstone landscapes, chaparral, and coastal-sage scrub at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small pale green flowers in subtle clusters. Growing 1 to 4 meters tall with slender dark red-brown twigs, it forms an evergreen shrub with dense branching. Its leaves are oblong to elliptical, 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, with wavy margins and spine-toothed edges, appearing shiny green on top and pale green underneath. The acorn cup is bowl-shaped, 8 to 15 millimeters wide, with slightly bumpy scales and containing a slender, generally ovoid nut 10 to 20 millimeters long.

Habitat: Generally sandy soils near coast, sandstone, chaparral, coastal-sage scrub

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: SCo, PR

California counties: Santa Barbara, Orange, Ventura, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Riverside, Napa, San Bernardino, Butte, Sonoma, Lake, San Benito, Monterey, Contra Costa, Kern, Mendocino, El Dorado, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Glenn, Fresno, Kings, Sutter, Imperial, Alameda, Nevada, Tehama, San Mateo, Tulare, Solano, Shasta, Colusa, Placer, Yolo, Marin, San Francisco

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