| Leaves:
Alternate; simple; ovate; 1/2" to 1-1/4" long; evergreen;
wavy margin with sharp, spiny teeth, can look like a small holly leaf;
blue-green and whitish-waxy.
Twigs/buds: Twigs slender; brown. Terminal buds small; clustered
at end of twig, brown.
Flowers/fruit: Fruit an acorn; short-stalked or no stalk; 1/2"
long ; light-brown; shell glabrous inside; 1/2 enclosed by warty
cap; matures in one season.
Bark: Gray-brown and scaly or flaky.
Wood: Unimportant and little known or used; ring porous.
General: Native to low canyon sites in southwestern Utah. Likely
needs a fairly warm climate and can withstand some drought. Clumpy
and shrubby, only getting up to about 8 feet tall. Shade intolerant.
Landscape Use: Rarely (if ever) planted; might occasionally find
native plants in developed areas. Likely would need little water
or care. Zones 7-9, though one is growing on the east side of a
building in Provo, Utah. Wavyleaf oak (Quercus undulata--called
Quercus havardii or shinnery oak by Welsh et al.) is another small,
shrubby, evergreen oak native to southern Utah that has slightly
crinkled or wavy leaves. Zones 7-9.
Comments & Limitations:
- Fruit and/or plant part can be a nuisances; use fruitless varieties
if possible.
- Evergreen broadleaf (retains its leaves for more than one year).
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