| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Island Oak
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Quercus tomentella |
The Island Oak (Quercus tomentella), also known as Island Live Oak or Channel Islands Oak, is an oak in the section Protobalanus. Island Oak is native to six islands off the coast of California: Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Catalina, San Clemente, and Guadalupe islands. The former five islands are Channel Islands of California; Guadalupe Island is located to the west of MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co ( Baja CaliforniaAlternative use: Baja California (state Baja California or Lower California is a peninsula in the west of Mexico. It extends some 1250 km from Tijuana in the north to Cabo San Lucas in the south, separating the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California (o).
FossilFor other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other artifacts such as footprints. The totality of fossils and their placement in rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fos of Island Oak have been found in mainland California; the youngest known fossils are two to ten million years old and were found near St. Mary's College, somewhat near the Oakland hills. The oldest known fossils are 30 to 60 million years old and were found in the Mojave desert. Island Oak is no longer native to mainland California, and is thought to be a relict of a climate that was warmer and wetter than today's. However, it will grow readily in mainland California if planted in your garden and regularly watered.Many native populations of Island Oak are in need of immediate restoration due to severe impacts of grazing by non-native herbivoreIn zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). Thus, while humans may choose not to eat meat, such individuals are vegetarians, not herbivores. A true herbivore, such as a cow, is unable to chew or digests. The National Park ServiceNational Park Service Established April 5, 1916 Director Fran P. Mainella Budget 1. 6 billion (2004) Employees 20,000 (2004) The National Park Service (NPS) is the government agency in the United States that deals with national parks and monuments. It was has classified Island Oak as a species of special environmental concernAn endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. Many countries have laws offering special protection to these species (forbidding hunting, banning their habitats from development, etc. to prevent t.
Island Oak can hybridThis article is about a biological term. See hybrid (disambiguation) for other meanings. In biology, hybrid has two meanings. The first meaning is either the offspring of two different species, or of two different genera. The second meaning of "hybrid" isize with all other members of the section Protobalanus, although its natural range overlaps only with Quercus chrysolepis, the Canyon Live Oak .
Island Oak is usually less than 20 meters in height. Its bark is usually gray and becomes furrowed with age. The species is named for the dense hairs found on the undersides of its leaves. Leaves, which are evergreen, are usually 5 to 8 cm in length, oblong to oblong-obvate in shape, with a toothed margin, deeply indented. Acorns take 2 years to mature and are saucer- to bowl-shaped with a rounded tip, and large in size (cup 20-30 mm wide, 6-8 mm deep, nut 20-35 mm).