Quercus wislizenii
| Interior live oak | |
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| Leaves and acorn. The leaf margins are sometimes spiny rather than smooth. | |
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| Typical growth habit | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Section: | Lobatae |
| Species: | Q. wislizeni |
| Binomial name | |
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Quercus wislizeni A.DC. |
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| Combined ranges of Quercus wislizeni and Quercus parvula | |
| Synonyms | |
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Quercus wislizenii A.DC. |
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Quercus wislizenii A.DC.
Quercus wislizeni, known by the common name interior live oak, is an evergreen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in many areas of California in the United States continuing south into northern Baja California in Mexico. It generally occurs in foothills, being most abundant in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, but also widespread in the Pacific Coast Ranges ─ where since 1980 it has been known as a separate species Quercus parvula ─ and the San Gabriel Mountains. It was named for its collector, Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus (1810–1889).
It is a large shrub or tree growing to 22 meters (72 feet) tall, although where it is common in the low elevation Sierra foothills it seldom exceeds 10 meters (33 feet). The dark-green leaves ─ appearing grayish from a distance ─ are usually small, 2–5 cm (1–2 in) long, thick, and often spiny-toothed at higher elevations, particularly on young trees. The male flowers are on catkins, the female flowers in leaf axils. The acorns are 1–2 cm (0.5–1 in) long, and mature the second season (about 18 months) after flowering.
Although originally published by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle as "wislizeni", some sources, e.g., Jensen in Flora of North America, mistakenly spelled the specific epithet "wislizenii." Correct spelling is with one "i," per ICN article 60C.2. Wislizenus' specimen was thought by de Candolle to have been collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. However, German-born American botanist Georg Engelmann later corrected the location to the American fork of the Sacramento River near Auburn, California.
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