Virginia Tech Dendrology

leather oak Fagaceae Quercus durata Jeps. symbol: QUDU4
Leaf: Alternate, evergreen, simple, elliptical, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long, spine-tipped lobes (holly-like), leathery and stiff, cupped and very rarely planar, somewhat revolute, yellow-green to gray-green and pubescent on the upper surface, yellow to golden fuzzy on the lower surface.
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: Acorn, 1/2 to 1 inch long; round and somewhat pubescent nut; warty cap covers 1/3 to 1/2 of nut; appearing singularly or in pairs; ripens in fall.
Twig: Slender, densely to sparsely pubescent, often with yellow hairs; buds red-brown, globose.
Bark: Light gray and finely scaly.
Form: A large clump-forming dense shrub up to 10 feet.
Looks like: scrub oak - shrub live oak - canyon live oak

Additional Range Information: Quercus durata is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: 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