Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

scrub oak Fagaceae Quercus berberidifolia Liebm. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: QUBE5
Leaf: Alternate, evergreen, simple, oblong to elliptical, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long, base often heart-shaped, leathery and stiff, spiny teeth, shiny green above and smooth or finely fuzzy beneath.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males in drooping 1 inch long catkins, yellow-green; females very small spikes in leaf axils, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Egg-shaped acorn, 1/2 to 1 inch long; deep, stalkless warty cap covers 1/3 of nut, ripens in 1 season in late summer to early fall.
Twig: Slender, reddish brown; buds clustered, round and pointed.
Bark: Light green-gray to gray, smooth, numerous lenticels.
Form: A large clump forming dense shrub up to 15 feet, occasionally a small tree.
 Looks like: shrub live oak - coast live oak - interior live oak - leather oak

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Additional Range Information: Quercus berberidifolia is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information