Canyon Live Oak acorns in pen and ink.
Canyon Live Oak, Quercus chrysolepis, is an evergreen oak of the California Sierra Nevada and Coastal Range. Its full range stretches from Mexico and Arizona north to southwestern Oregon. These trees typically prefer shallow soils like those found in steep canyons common in the low and mid elevation mountains. Hence the name. These sites are normally poor soil quality and aren’t the best locations for growing commercial timber. Canyon Live Oak is not considered as a commercial species. Its main commercial value is as firewood. However, it has a high intrinsic value as a species important to wildlife. In forest management it is far more beneficial left on the landscape providing food, nesting and roosting habitat.
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When I lived in the Los Angeles area we had what we simply called “live oak” trees all over the place. Is the Canyon Live Oak perhaps the same thing?
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It was probably coast live oak. That is the most common one in that area. There could be some canyon live oak and interior live oak nearby. There are a number of different live oak species.
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Thanks Tim! I love the colour contrast between the seed proper and it’s orange collar (don’t know what the proper name for it is). What type of antelope is that in the last photo? A pronghorn?
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The acorn itself is the seed and it’s seated in the cap. Acorns are also called mast.
The deer is a black-tail buck. It’s very very young and is only a spike, single points. Pretty soon the the spikes will fall off and next season the antlers will fork. Each year the antlers get larger and over several years they grow more point. I hope that makes sense.
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Thanks Tim for the explanation, it makes perfect sense.
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Wonderful pictures and so informational!
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Thank you so much Joy!
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