Live Oak
Quercus wislizenii
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
Quercus wislizenii is an evergreen Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 30 m (98ft) at a slow rate.It is in leaf all year, in flower in April, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 20
Where it is found
Desert mountain slopes and valleys below 1600 metres. No more than a shrub in the desert, forming trees in the sheltered coastal valleys.
South-western N. America - California.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Seed - cooked. A staple food of some native North American Indian tribes. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed, which can be up to 35mm long and 1cm wide, contains bitter tannins - these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Coffee: the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee.
Medicine
Rating: 2
A decoction of the bark has been used as a cough medicine. The pulverized outer bark has been used as an astringent and antiseptic dusting powder on burns and running sores and is particularly useful for babies with sore umbilicus. A decoction of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of arthritis. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc.
Antiarthritic: Treats arthritis.
Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Other
Rating: 2
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff. The acorn meal has been used to mend cracks in clay pots. Wood - heavy, very hard, strong, close grained. Of no commercial value because the trunks are never tall or clear, it is used mainly as a fuel.
Adhesive: Glues.
Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
How it is grown
Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, but this tree is perfectly hardy though slow growing in this country. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed taking two summers to ripen. Closely related to Q. agrifolia. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Propagating it: Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness:
Growth: Slow
Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist