Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak)

Quercus agrifolia Née

Coast live oak

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fagales	Birch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others
Family	Fagaceae	Beech familhy
Genus	Quercus	Latin for “oak”
Species	agrifolia	“With rough or scabby leaves”

About plant names...

Coast live oak is native to the west coast of North America.

Identification: These evergreens reach 20-82' (6-25 m), with trunks up to 4' (1.2 m) around, and may live up to 250 years. Trunks are short and the crowns are wide. Bark is smooth and gray-brown when the tree is young, becoming darker and somewhat furrowed later. Leaves are dark green, thick, glossy, oval in shape, alternate, edged with sharp fibers. They remind me a little of holly leaves. They are ¾-2½" (2-7 cm) × ⅜-1½" (1-4 cm). Male flowers are catkins 1¾-4" (5-10 cm) long. Female flowers are ⅛" (5 mm) long, in clusters of one to three, barely noticeable. Acorns are 1-1½" (2.5-3.8 cm) long and ⅜-½" (1-1.5 cm) wide, conical in shape. Acorn production is not consistent.

See the Quercus comparison table.

Online References:

Quercus agrifolia on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Quercus agrifolia on Calflora

Quercus agrifolia at the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Quercus agrifolia on Wikipedia

Quercus agrifolia on eFloras

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 202

Quercus agrifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.