YELLOWSTONE ARBORETUM
" Stewards of the Natural Environment "
Billings, Montana @ ZooMontana
Scrub Oak
Catalogue A# 0099-161 PL15
GPS 45D 43' 60" N / 108D 37' 3" W
Quercus gambellii
Family: Fagaceae
Origin: Southwestern United States
Common name: Scrub Oak
Location: Old Pond-Immediately south of bridge
Number in accession: 1
Note: Located between Red-twigged Dogwoods
This 16 inch Oak provides overall benefits of: $126 every year.
Characteristics
Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
• Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont
Growth form
the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
50–120 mm
Leaf blade width
30–90 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
Twig winter color
• brown
• yellow
CRITIQUE
Scrub oak is one of the smaller and more gnarled oaks in New England, rarely exceeding 12-20 feet in height. Also called bear oak, reportedly because only bears consume the bitter acorns. This hardy species is among the first to recolonize dry sites that have been repeatedly cut-over or burned. Thus, it is a valuable early-successional tree that stabilizes and shades bare soils.
