Leather Oak, Quercus durata

About Leather Oak (Quercus durata) 12 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Quercus durata (California Scrub Oak, Leather Oak; syn. Quercus dumosa revoluta Sarg.) is an oak endemic to California. This plant is classified as one of the shrub oaks due to its smaller size. It often used as an urban tree and medicinal plant. In the wild, Quercus durata usually grows in serpentine soils, often with manzanita in the chaparral of the Coast Ranges from Klamath to San Luis Obispo. There are outlying populations in the Sierras and the San Gabriel Mountains. CNPS considers the San Gabriel population to be a rare variety. In the garden this plant does not require serpentine soil and can tolerate garden soil as well as drought and clay-rich soils. However, it is best adapted to relatively dry, rocky, nutrient-poor soil. Most individuals remain short, under 15 feet, and have small, densely organized leaves.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree, Shrub

Size

3 - 12 ft tall
3 - 12 ft wide

Form

Mounding

Growth Rate

Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Green

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Numerous birds and small mammals are attracted to the acorns. Many insects are attracted to Oaks generally, including the following butterflies which use Oaks as host plant: California Sister, Propertius Duskywing, Mournful Duskywing, Golden Hairstreak, and Gold-Hunter's Hairstreak.
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed

, 166 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Sleepy Duskywing Erynnis brizoErynnis brizo

Pacific Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma constrictaMalacosoma constricta

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulusPapilio rutulus

Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquiniLimenitis lorquini

California Sister Adelpha californicaAdelpha californica

Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertiusErynnis propertius

California Hairstreak Satyrium californicaSatyrium californica

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low, Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 12

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -5° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Although often found in serpentine soil, it is tolerant of other soils as long as nutrient level is low and drainage is adequate. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants

Use with other plants of the mountainous chaparral and woodlands, such as Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Ceanothus spp., Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina), various annuals and geophytes.

Propagation?

From acorns. For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds sow in fall outdoors or stratify to hold for spring sowing. (USDA Forest Service 1974).

Natural Setting

Site Type

Typically found as part of chaparral in rocky, foothill or mountainous areas

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 8.8" - 88.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.75", Coldest Month: 33.3" - 54.1", Hottest Month: 53.3" - 79.9", Humidity: 0.31" - 26.99", Elevation: 7" - 10044"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Leather Oak

Quercus durata

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Leather OakQuercus durata

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Leather Oak

Quercus durata