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National Champion Engelmann Oak Quercus engelmanii Beech Family — Oak Genus Pasadena, California Circumference = 142 inches (11.8 feet) Height = 78 feet Average Crown Spread = 100 feet Total Points: 245 Nominated: 1968 by: W. Metcalf Cloned: July 2001 by: Terry Mock

The Engelmann Oak, also called Mesa Oak, is a small to medium tree of southwest California that occurs on low hills and dry rolling mesas in well-drained soils, usually below 4,400 foot elevations, but does not grow along the coast.

Engelmann Oak flowers in April or May, and the acorns mature in one season. The dark brown wood is very heavy and dense, but is brittle and so has no commercial value beyond firewood.

To learn more about this remarkable ancient tree, visit:

Giant gene pattern

Identification

Size: small to medium tree, 16 to 60 feet high with spreading, rounded crown

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Leaves: evergreen, 1 to 3 inches long, .5 to 1 inch wide, uniformly wide to broadest above the middle, entire, or a few small teeth, bluish-green to grayish blue-green and smooth above, lighter and usually hairy beneath

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Fruit: acorns mature in one season on current year's branchlets, usually singly or in pairs, cylindrical to widest above middle, .6 to 1 inch long, blunt tip, shallow to deeply bowl-shaped cup encloses 1/2 to 1/3 of the nut, covered with light brown, thick scales

Bark: grayish-brown, with deep fissures separating broad ridges

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TERRA: The Earth Restoration and Reforestation Alliance — www.championtrees.org — updated 8/14/2003