- Author: Paula Pashby
Do you ever wonder about all of the oak trees you see in California?
If you want to find out more about these oak beauties, here are some great resources:
UC Oak Woodland Management one great resource. Their mission is to maintain, and where possible, increase the acreage of California's hardwood range resources to provide wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, wood and livestock products, high-quality water supply, and aesthetic value. On this web page, they have a list of 8 common California Oak tree species: Blue Oak, Valley Oak, Oregon White Oak, Engelmann Oak, Coast Live Oak, Interior Live Oak, Canyon Live Oak, and California Black Oak.
When you click on one of the links to the species shown on right side of the page, you can view the common name, scientific name, pictures, description, range distribution maps and more. UC Oak Woodland Management's web page offers a “quick click” way to learn more about our California oak trees.
UC Oak Woodland Management: https://ucanr.edu/sites/oak_range/ select “California's Rangeland Oak Species, Values, and Habitat Descriptions”
Another way to see these beautiful oak trees up close is by taking a nice stroll in the beautiful UC Davis Arboretum on the UC Davis Campus.
The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden have a huge arboretum, many acres of demonstration gardens and the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve. Their purpose is to inspire human potential to help people and environments thrive.
If you want to stay focused on the oak trees, you can visit their Peter J. Shields Oak Grove. Download their map from this site: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/
On the top of the page, select the link “VISIT”, and choose Directions, Map & Parking Information.
You are then going to look for Peter J. Shields Oak Grove on the map. There are more than 80 kinds of oak trees found in this grove and they are all nicely identified with markers.