Gambel Oak
Quercus gambelii
This oak reproduces aggressively by cloning itself through underground rhizomes, forming vast, single-root-system groves known as 'shinnery'.
- Scientific name
- Quercus gambelii
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fagales › Fagaceae › Quercus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Rocky foothills, canyons, mountain slopes, and pine-oak woodlands.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis via sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- Range
- Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Northern Mexico
- Size
- 3 to 9 meters (10 to 30 feet) tall, occasionally reaching 15 meters.
- Lifespan
- 80 to 150 years for individual trunks, though root systems can survive for centuries.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Severe drought, climate change, and overgrazing by livestock.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Safe to approach, touch, and rest beneath. Watch for falling acorns in autumn. If hiking through dense thickets, wear long pants to avoid scratches from stiff, woody branches.
Quercus gambelii , with the common name Gambel oak , is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountain elevations of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak .
Photo: Lyrae, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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