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Quercus turbinella

Quercus turbinella Greene

Shrub Live Oak, Sonoran Scrub Oak, Scrub Oak, Turbinella Oak, Turbinella, Encino

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Synonym(s): Quercus dumosa var. turbinella

USDA Symbol: QUTU2

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Shrub live oak is almost always a dense shrub, 6-12 ft. high, however it may become more tree-like in favorable habitats. Rigid branches bear attractive, gray-green, bristle-tipped leaves. The holly-like leaves unfold a reddish color, changing to shiny lime-green before becoming blue and bloomy. These leaves remain on the shrub all year, being pushed off by the new. Evergreen, much-branched, thicket-forming shrub or small tree with a spreading crown.

The name turbinella, meaning like a little top, refers to the acorns. Shrub Live Oak is the characteristic shrub in the chaparral vegetation of Arizona mountain slopes. The foliage is browsed by wildlife and occasionally by livestock.