Alternate name: Rocky Mountain White Oak
Family: Fagaceae, Beech view all from this family
Description Tree with rounded crown, often in dense groves; or a thicket-forming shrub.
Height: 20-70' (6-21 m).
Diameter: 1-2 1/2' (0.3-0.8 m).
Leaves: 2-6" (5-15 cm) long, 1 1/4-3 1/4" (3-8 cm) wide. Elliptical or oblong, rounded at tip, short-pointed at base; deeply 7- to 11-lobed halfway or more to middle, edges straight or wavy; varying in size, lobing, and hairiness. Shiny dark green and usually hairless above, paler and with soft hairs below; turning yellow and reddish in autumn.
Bark: gray, rough, thick, deeply furrowed or scaly.
Acorns: 1/2-3/4" (12-19 mm) long; egg-shaped, about 1/3 enclosed by deep, thick, scaly cup; 1-2 on short stalk or nearly stalkless; maturing first year.
Habitat Slopes and valleys, in mountains, foothills, plateaus; scattered with Ponderosa Pine.
Range N. Utah east to extreme s. Wyoming, south to Trans-Pecos Texas, and west to s. Arizona; local in extreme nw. Oklahoma and s. Nevada; also n. Mexico; at 5000-8000' (1524-2438 m).
Discussion Gambel's Oak is the common oak of the Rocky Mountains, abundant in Grand Canyon National Park. It is closely related to White Oak (Quercus alba L.) of the eastern United States. The foliage is browsed by deer and sometimes by livestock. Wild turkeys, squirrels, and other wildlife, as well as hogs and other domestic animals eat the sweetish acorns. The wood is used mainly for fenceposts and fuel. This species is named for William Gambel (1821-49), a naturalist from Philadelphia.
