Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook.
Garry oak (Oregon white oak)
Fagaceae (Beech family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Gary Ansell     (Photo ID #13500)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Quercus garryana
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Quercus garryana var. garryana

Species Information

General:
Deciduous tree with heavy, craggy branches, up to 25 m tall but often small, shrubby and as short as 1 m in dry, rocky habitats; trunks up to 1 m wide; bark light grey with thick scaly ridges.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, blades oblong to egg-shaped in outline with 3-7 lobes per side, the lobes entire or 2-3 toothed, up to 12 cm long with stalks 1-2 cm long, the largest sinuses extending more than halfway to the midrib, bright shiny green and glabrous above, paler below with reddish to yellow hairs, turning yellowish-brown in the fall.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of tiny inconspicuous male and female flowers, these separate but on the same tree; female flowers clustered or single surrounded by a scaly cuplike involucre; male flowers numerous in catkins.
Fruits:
Acorns, 1-seeded, maturing in one season, unstalked, egg-shaped to nearly round, 2-3 cm long; cups shallow, bumpy, hairy within.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Quercus garryana

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
116 20 315
Slope Gradient (%)
34 0 135

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

245 23 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 1 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
82
Modal BEC Zone Class
CDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

CDF(81), CWH(1)

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry grasslands and rock outcrops in the lowland zone; locally common on SE Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, rare in the lower Fraser Valley; S to CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia