Coast Live Oak
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
150-250 yrs
Size
Large
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Mediterranean woodland
Range
Western North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Spines
Status
Common

About

California's signature evergreen oak, with gnarled dark trunks and a dense rounded canopy of small, holly-like leaves that stay green year-round. A single mature tree can shelter hundreds of insect, bird, and mammal species in its branches and acorn crop.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Fagales
Family
Fagaceae
Genus
Quercus
Species
Quercus agrifolia