Quercus durata var. durata

Leather oak

Family: Fagaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Leather oak is a California native shrub found in the northern Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, southern Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in chaparral, particularly on serpentine soils, at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers typical of oak species. Growing as a dense, spreading shrub 1 to 3 meters tall with multiple stems, it forms thick, rounded clusters in rugged terrain. Its distinctive leaves are strongly convex on the upper surface, with edges tightly rolled under, and covered in short hairs when young, giving the foliage a leathery, textured appearance. The shrub is well-adapted to harsh, rocky serpentine landscapes, creating distinctive patches of vegetation in California's coastal and mountain chaparral ecosystems.

Habitat: Chaparral, generally serpentine

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: NCoR, n SN, s CCo, SnFrB, SCoR.

California counties: Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, Trinity, Monterey, Sonoma, El Dorado, Napa, Santa Barbara, Tehama, Colusa, Butte, Yuba, Plumas, Lake, Glenn, Marin, Shasta, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Benito, Los Angeles, Fresno, Santa Clara, Placer, Solano

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