naiad_lad's Identifications

Outer end of leaf lobes are smooth, blunt and rounded unlike California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) that has bristle-tipped lobes).

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)
Endemic in California: native and occurs nowhere else. Conservation Status: near threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List) due to loss of habitat.
Longevity: Long-lived, 200-250 yrs. Largest of the North American oaks.
Leaves: Deciduous, deeply lobed, shiny and dark green-yellow above, grayish below. Notched leaf looks like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Acorns: mature in first year, large and tapered, cup over 1/3 of nut and warty. Acorn tips pointed with warty cups.
Sites: Prefers fertile, well-drained bottom land soils, stream beds, and lower foothills.
Bark: on mature trees is gray, blocky, and deeply furrowed, or it can look checkered, like gray cornflakes.

Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 10-12.
Includes Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) is a "magnificent tree, as wide as it is tall, often found in isolation dominating the surrounding landscape. The leaves have distinct, rounded lobes, smaller than the leaves of the California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) and lacking the bristles. The upper leaf surface is shiny. Acorns are generally long-conic, with a pointed tip. The cup is deep, with distinctly tubercled scales. The bark of mature trees is deeply checkered into squarish sections."

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40663

COMPARISON of 2 Oaks:
Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) and Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana). Both are High-latitude Oaks in the White Oaks (Section Quercus) group. Oregon Oak is most easily distinguished from Valley Oak by a prominent yellow mid-vein in leaf.
Acorns are also key:
Valley Oak--larger, longer, with pointy tip
Oregon Oak--shorter, more squat, less pointy
Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, p. 45 (Acorns in Profile)

U.C. Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, Acorns in Profile, p. 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) Endemic in California: native and occurs nowhere else. Conservation Status: near threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List) due to loss of habitat.
Longevity: Long-lived, 200-250 yrs. Largest of the North American oaks.
Leaves: Deciduous, deeply lobed, shiny and dark green-yellow above, grayish below. Notched leaf looks like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Acorns: mature in first year, large and tapered, cup over 1/3 of nut and warty. Acorn tips pointed with warty cups.
Sites: Prefers fertile, well-drained bottom land soils, stream beds, and lower foothills.
Bark: on mature trees is gray, blocky, and deeply furrowed, or it can look checkered, like gray cornflakes.

Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 10-12.
Acorns in Profile, p. 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Calflora (with species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7001

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) is a "magnificent tree, as wide as it is tall, often found in isolation dominating the surrounding landscape. The leaves have distinct, rounded lobes, smaller than the leaves of the California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) and lacking the bristles. The upper leaf surface is shiny. Acorns are generally long-conic, with a pointed tip. The cup is deep, with distinctly tubercled scales. The bark of mature trees is deeply checkered into squarish sections."

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40663

Flora of Fort Ord, David Styer, 2019, p. 129.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

COMPARED TO

Quercus garryana leaf-- characteristics:
Prominent yellow mid vein
Adaxially (top): shiny, dark green; Abaxially (leaf underside): short-hairy, dull, light green.
It has lower lobe count and more rounded lobes compared to Valley Oak.

Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana) A.k.a. Garry Oak. Native, deciduous oak tree in White Oaks (Section Quercus) and Beech (Fagaceae) family. It grows up to 20 m (66ft) tall. Trunk bark is thin, scaly, light gray. Its range stretches from southern California northward to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak or, in Washington state and Canada, the Garry Oak. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68632-Quercus-garryana

U.C. Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, Acorns in Profile, 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Calflora: (includes species distribution map) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=6996

Leaf description per Jepson "Leaf: 5--15 cm; petiole 5--25 mm; blade elliptic to obovate, adaxially shiny, dark green, abaxially short-hairy, dull, light green, tip obtuse to rounded, margin lobes 5--7 per leaf, deep, entire or 2-toothed."

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40616

Outer end of leaf lobes are smooth, blunt and rounded unlike California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) that has bristle-tipped lobes).

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)
Endemic in California: native and occurs nowhere else. Conservation Status: near threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List)
Longevity: Long-lived, 200-250 yrs. Largest of the North American oaks.
Leaves: Deciduous, deeply lobed, shiny and dark green-yellow above, grayish below. Notched leaf looks like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Acorns: mature in first year, large and tapered, cup over 1/3 of nut and warty. Acorn tips pointed with warty cups.
Sites: Prefers fertile, well-drained bottom land soils, stream beds, and lower foothills.
Bark: on mature trees is gray, blocky, and deeply furrowed, or it can look checkered, like gray cornflakes.

Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 10-12.
Includes Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40663

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) is a "magnificent tree, as wide as it is tall, often found in isolation dominating the surrounding landscape. The leaves have distinct, rounded lobes, smaller than the leaves of the California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) and lacking the bristles. The upper leaf surface is shiny. Acorns are generally long-conic, with a pointed tip. The cup is deep, with distinctly tubercled scales. The bark of mature trees is deeply checkered into squarish sections."

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

COMPARISON of 2 Oaks:
Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) and Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana). Both are High-latitude Oaks in the White Oaks (Section Quercus) group. Oregon Oak is most easily distinguished from Valley Oak by a prominent yellow mid-vein in leaf.
Acorns are also key:
Valley Oak--larger, longer, with pointy tip
Oregon Oak--shorter, more squat, less pointy
Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, p. 45 (Acorns in Profile)

U.C. Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, Acorns in Profile, p. 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) Endemic in California: native and occurs nowhere else. Conservation Status: near threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List) due to loss of habitat.
Longevity: Long-lived, 200-250 yrs. Largest of the North American oaks.
Leaves: Deciduous, deeply lobed, shiny and dark green-yellow above, grayish below. Notched leaf looks like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Acorns: mature in first year, large and tapered, cup over 1/3 of nut and warty. Acorn tips pointed with warty cups.
Sites: Prefers fertile, well-drained bottom land soils, stream beds, and lower foothills.
Bark: on mature trees is gray, blocky, and deeply furrowed, or it can look checkered, like gray cornflakes.

Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, pp. 10-12.
Acorns in Profile, p. 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Calflora (with species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7001

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) is a "magnificent tree, as wide as it is tall, often found in isolation dominating the surrounding landscape. The leaves have distinct, rounded lobes, smaller than the leaves of the California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) and lacking the bristles. The upper leaf surface is shiny. Acorns are generally long-conic, with a pointed tip. The cup is deep, with distinctly tubercled scales. The bark of mature trees is deeply checkered into squarish sections."

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/tree-fagaceae-quercus/

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40663

Flora of Fort Ord, David Styer, 2019, p. 129.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

COMPARED TO

Quercus garryana leaf-- characteristics:
Prominent yellow mid vein
Adaxially (top): shiny, dark green; Abaxially (leaf underside): short-hairy, dull, light green.
It has lower lobe count and more rounded lobes compared to Valley Oak.

Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana) A.k.a. Garry Oak. Native, deciduous oak tree in White Oaks (Section Quercus) and Beech (Fagaceae) family. It grows up to 20 m (66ft) tall. Trunk bark is thin, scaly, light gray. Its range stretches from southern California northward to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak or, in Washington state and Canada, the Garry Oak. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68632-Quercus-garryana

U.C. Oak Tree Species I.D. and Ecology: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu/oak-tree-species-id-ecology/

Oaks of California, B. Pavlik, P. Muick, S. Johnson, M. Popper, 1991, Acorns in Profile, 45.
Key to Tree Oaks of California pp. 48-49.

Calflora: (includes species distribution map) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=6996

Leaf description per Jepson "Leaf: 5--15 cm; petiole 5--25 mm; blade elliptic to obovate, adaxially shiny, dark green, abaxially short-hairy, dull, light green, tip obtuse to rounded, margin lobes 5--7 per leaf, deep, entire or 2-toothed."

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=40616