Canyon Live Oak
Quercus chrysolepis

ECOLOGY
Flowers in spring with inconspicuous, wind-pollinated flowers. Acorns ripen in fall. Oaks are wildlife keystone species hosting a mind-boggling number of insects. This brings in a vast array of substrate-insectivorous birds (birds that spend their time on these trees eating the insects). The acorns are important food for many birds and mammals (and some species eaten by people). The trees also provide important habitat for many birds and mammals. Almost all the oaks host a multitude of moths and butterflies including the following species:

Mexican-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius moctezuma)

Arizona Sister (Adelpha eulalia)

Short-tailed Skipper (Zestusa dorus)

Arizona Dull Firetip (Apyrrothrix araxes ssp. arizonae)

Burgess’s Sleepy Duskywing (Erynnis brizo ssp. burgessi)

Clitus Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis ssp. clitus)

Meridian duskywing (Erynnis meridianus ssp. meridianus)

Scudder's Duskywing (Erynnis scudderi)

Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis)

Oaks also host a diversity of insects that cause growths called “galls”. Galls are protective nests for the larvae of various insects (mostly tiny stingless wasps) to develop protected from pests. The have a diversity of shapes from giant ball-like growths, to small growths, on leaves or young stems. These galls do not harm healthy trees.

Oaks attract numerous other insects which, in turn, attracts canopy-gleaning birds.

ETHNOBOTANY
While some tribes consider the acorns poisonous, others use it for dried food, for meal to make bread and mush and gruel, they are generally leached and cooked or made into flour. The trees are used for all manner of tools and fuelwood.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found in riparian and conifer forests and in exposed rocky sites from 3,500-8,000’ across Arizona, North to Oregon and south into northwestern Mexico.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
This plant is in the family Fagaceae, the beech family. There are 627 accepted species in the genus Quercuswidely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere.
Quercus is the classical Latin word for oak, thought to be derived from Celtic quer, fine, and cuez, tree, and “chrysolepis” is from the Greek meaning golden-scaled, referring to the underside of the leaves.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
This plant is in the family Fagaceae, the beech family. There are 605 accepted species in the genus Quercus widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere.
Quercus is the classical Latin word for oak, thought to be derived from Celtic quer, fine, and cuez, tree, while arizonica means of or from Arizona.