In Oregon, the tree grows on the west side of the Cascade Range, primarily in the Willamette, Umpqua and Rogue River valleys, and along the Columbia River Gorge, as well as in canyons adjacent to the gorge. semota – shrub to 15 ft leaves not velvety underneath. breweri – shrub to 15 ft leaves velvety underneath. British Columbia south along the Cascades to the California Coast Ranges. Oregon white oak leaves Taxonomy Taxonomic history ĭavid Douglas discovered the species in the 1820s and named it after Nicholas Garry, who was deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1822 to 1835 and a supporter of Douglas. Individual specimens can grow to around 500 years in age, such as those on Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon. Shapes vary from spheres to mushroom-shaped to pencil-shaped. Other species create galls on stems and leaves. One common species responsible for these galls is Cynips maculipennis. They are attached to the undersides of leaves. ' Oak apples', green or yellow ball of up to 5 cm in size, are the most spectacular. It is also commonly found hosting galls created by wasps in the family Cynipidae. The Oregon white oak is commonly found in the Willamette Valley hosting the mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens. Other individuals may have subtle mixtures of brown, green and yellow, or in less common cases a fairly bright 'peas and corn' effect. Its fall color is unspectacular, with many trees turning plain brown. The flowers are catkins, the fruit a small acorn 3⁄4–1 inch (rarely 1 1⁄2 inches) long and 1⁄2–3⁄4 inch broad, with shallow, scaly cups.

The leaves are deciduous, 2–6 inches (5.1–15 cm) long and 1–3 inches broad, with 3–7 deep lobes on each side, darker green on top and finely haired below. It has the characteristic oval profile of other oaks when solitary, but is also known to grow in groves close enough together that crowns may form a canopy. The trunks grow to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, exceptionally 5 ft (2 m). Quercus garryana is typically of medium height, growing slowly to around 80 feet (24 metres) and occasionally as high as 100 ft (30 m), or in shrub form to 10 to 15 ft (3.0 to 4.6 m) tall. As the fruit matures, the involucre hardens and becomes a shallow receptacle that contains an acorn.

White oak leaf