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| ## interior live oak {#interior-live-oak .Title-Header}               |
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| *Quercus wislizeni* A. DC.                                            |
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| Plant Symbol = QUWI2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

##### Alternate Names {#alternate-names .Header-3}

*Quercus parvula, Quercus shrevei*, dwarf interior live oak, scrub
interior live oak, Highland live oak, Sierra live oak

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Wildlife*: Interior live oak provides important food and cover for a
wide variety of birds and mammals: black-tailed jackrabbit, Audubon
cottontail, brush rabbit, Beechy ground squirrel, Sonoma chipmunk,
beaver, porcupine, and elk. It is important for winter browse by
Columbian black-tailed deer. Acorns are a valuable food source for deer
and other wild ungulates, birds, and small mammals in the fall.

*Ethnobotanic*: After leaching away the bitter tannins, Native Americans
used the acorns of many oaks (*Quercus* spp.) for cooking oils, soups,
stews, or breads. Interior live oak has a high value for fuel wood and
is also used for landscaping.

##### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

Interior live oak is a slow-growing, variable evergreen that grows as a
large shrub or small tree. Plants may reach 30 to 75 feet in height or
assume a shrub-like growth form with heights of only 8 to 10 feet.
Leaves, which persist for 2 years, are mostly oblong-to-elliptic or
lanceolate, and spiny-toothed to entire around the edges. Both leaf
surfaces are shiny green but the upper surface is darker. Interior live
oak is monoecious (both male and female flowers borne on the same
plant). Male flowers are borne in catkins 1 to 3 inches in length, and
female flowers grow in clusters of two to four in the upper leaf
axils.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.796527777777778in"
height="2.120138888888889in"}

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

Interior live oak is native to California and Mexico. It occurs from
northern California in Siskiyou and Shasta counties, south along the
foothills of the Sierra Nevada and inner Coast Ranges, plus the Channel
islands. It is adapted to the following zones in California:
Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, redwood, western hardwoods,
and chaparral - mountain shrub.

This species is generally found on soils with a pH range between 5.6 and
7.5, with depths of 20 to 40 inches. Interior live oak grows
particularly well on dry, shallow, well-drained loams, clay loams,
gravelly loams, or gravel. Interior live oak is tolerant of shade,
particularly when young. Interior live oak appears to be well-adapted to
persist with or without fire. For more information, consult the US
Forest Service Fire Effects Information System on the web.

For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page
for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Interior live oak regenerates vegetatively after disturbance and also
reproduces through seed. Cleaned acorns average approximately 125 per
pound (275/kg). Annual seed production appears to be somewhat variable,
although each interior live oak tree generally produces good seed crops
at 5- to 7-year intervals. Acorns generally ripen after mid-August.
Research indicates that the acorns of interior live oak can germinate
without exposure to low temperatures. However, exposure to temperatures
of 32 to 41° F can effectively stratify seed and enhance germination.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Interior live oak sprouts vigorously after fire or mechanical
disturbance.

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

No cultivars currently exist, but ecotypes are available, particularly
from nurseries specializing in native plants within California.

##### Prepared By:  {#prepared-by .Header-3}

*J. S. Peterson*, USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana

##### 

**Species Coordinator:**

*M. Kat Anderson,* USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant
Sciences Dept., University of California, Davis, California

##### Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060809 jsp {#edited-05feb2002-jlk-060809-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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