Quercus vacciniifolia, huckleberry oak
Howard, Janet L. 1992. Quercus vacciniifolia, huckleberry oak. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/quevac
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| QUEVAC | huckleberry oak | Quercus vacciniifolia | Life Form: Plants/Shrub Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae Genus: Quercus | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The scientific name of huckleberry oak is Quercus vacciniifolia Kell. [15,27]. There are no recognized infrataxa.
Huckleberry oak hybridizes with canyon live oak (Q. chrysolepis) [1,17,27].
Synonyms
- Quercus chrysolepis var. vaccinifolia (Kell.) Engelm.
- Quercus vacciniifolia Kell. [31]
Other Common Names
None
General Distribution
Huckleberry oak is distributed along the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range from Fresno County, California north to Siskiyou County, California, and in the North Coast and Siskiyou ranges from Mendocino County, California north to Josephine County, Oregon [1,10,15,16]. It also occurs in extreme west-central Nevada [24].
States and Provinces
- United States: CA NV OR
Site Characteristics
Huckleberry oak growing in a draw of Kennedy Canyon, Stanislaus National Forest.
Huckleberry oak is found on xeric sites such as dry, windy ridges from 3,000 to 10,000 feet (305-3,049 m) in elevation [10,15]. Slope varies from gentle to steep. The soil is often rocky, and varies in depth from shallow to moderately deep (4.7 to 37.4 inches [12-95 cm]) [1,9]. Huckleberry oak will grow in serpentine soils [11].
Plant Communities
The huckleberry oak community type is composed of montane chaparral fields dominated by this species [10,16]. It is also an important or dominant component of the subcanopy layer of various coniferous forests [1,9,22]. Huckleberry oak is listed as a dominant species in the following publications:
- Preliminary plant associations of the Siskiyou Mountain Province [1]
- Association types in the North Coast Ranges of California [4]
- Mixed evergreen forest [22]
- The vascular plant communities of California [26].
Overstory associates not listed as SAF cover types in table A1 include sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), beach pine (P. contorta ssp. contorta), incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana), Baker cypress (Cupressus bakeri), and giant chinkapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla) [6,11,19,25] .
Shrub associates include pinemat manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis), California buckthorn (Rhamnus californica), poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii), deer oak (Quercus sadleriana), Fremont silktassel (Garrya fremontii), squawcarpet ceanothus (Ceanothus prostratus), chaparral whitethorn (C. leucodermis), and shrub forms of California bay (Umbellularia californica), common juniper (Juniperus communis), and tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflora) [1,10,11,13,16].
Groundcover associates include obscure bedstraw (Galium ambiguum), heart-leafed arnica (Arnica cordifolia), cliff-brake fern (Aspidotis densa), bear-grass (Xerophyllum tenax), red fescue (Festuca rubra), California fescue (F. californica), nodding microseris (Microseris nutans), false-flax (Carex serratodens), scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), and western rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia) [1,9,11].
Botanical Description
Huckleberry oak is a native, drought-resistant, evergreen, erect to prostrate, spreading shrub. It grows from 2 to 4 feet (0.6-1.2 m) high. Branches are slender and flexible, with smooth bark [24]. Leaves are sclerophyllous and brittle. Acorns are from 0.4 to 0.6 inch (1.0-1.5 cm) long [15].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
Seasonal Development
Huckleberry oak initiates growth in April or after snowmelt at high elevation. Flowering occurs from May to June. Information on time of acorn drop is lacking. Seasonal growth ends around November with the onset of freezing temperatures [10,15].
Regeneration Processes
Sexual: Huckleberry oak is wind pollinated. The age at which acorns are first produced is unknown. Acorns mature in 1 year [29]. Limited research places their germination capacity at 43 percent. Germination is hypogeal and occurs rapidly under warm, moist conditions [18].
Vegetative: Huckleberry oak sprouts from the root crown following damage to aboveground portions of the plant [3,24]. It also reproduces by layering [30].
Successional Status
Facultative Seral Species
Huckleberry oak is an edaphic or fire-climax species on some sites [11,16]. In the absence of fire and under favorable soil conditions, huckleberry oak is seral to coniferous species [1,3].
Immediate Fire Effects
Huckleberry oak is top-killed by fire [3,24]. The percentage of individuals suffering complete kill following moderate and severe fires is undocumented.
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- Small shrub, adventitious-bud rootcrown
Fire Adaptations
Huckleberry oak has adapted to fire by sprouting from the root crown [3,24].
This shrub has resinous, flammable leaves [5,24]. Its low, spreading growth form encourages surface fire, especially in dense, even-aged stands with considerable horizontal continuity [16,24]. Huckleberry oak in the subcanopy layer of coniferous forests often acts as a ladder fuel, resulting in crown fire [24].
Plant Response to Fire
The postfire recovery rate of huckleberry oak is undocumented.
Fire Regimes
For additional fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
Huckleberry oak aids in the spread of surface and crown fires. Reducing the density of shrub fields is recommended, especially in inhabited areas or locations nearby. This can be accomplished by removing every other oak in a field, or by creating islands of shrubs with cleared areas between them. Stumps require herbicide treatment or grubbing out to prevent sprouting. Thinning huckleberry oak in the subcanopy layer, and pruning "leave" shrubs to less than 18 inches (46 cm) in height reduces fire hazard in forested areas [24].
Federal Status
No special status.
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Mule deer browse huckleberry oak heavily. Foliage is sparsely used by livestock, but they readily eat huckleberry oak acorns. Acorns are also consumed by a variety of wildlife, including black bear, mule deer, various rodents, blue grouse, mountain quail, and various small nongame birds [21,29].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
The palatability of huckleberry oak for livestock and deer is rated as follows [21]:
| Animal | Palatability rating |
|---|---|
| Mule deer | fair to poor |
| Cattle | poor to useless |
| Sheep | poor to useless |
| Goats | poor to useless |
| Horses | useless |
Cover Value
No entry.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
Huckleberry oak affords excellent erosion control on steep slopes of watersheds [21]. Nursery seedlings have been planted in the Lake Tahoe Basin as a part of a project to control erosion and reduce sediment entering Lake Tahoe [23]. Plants are also established by fall planting of acorns. Cultivation methods have been detailed [18].
Other Uses
No entry.
Other Management Considerations
Unwanted huckleberry oak has been controlled by applying 2,4-D or triclopyr ester to freshly cut stumps, or by grubbing out root crowns [24].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES20 Douglas-fir
- FRES21 Ponderosa pine
- FRES23 Fir – spruce
- FRES26 Lodgepole pine
- FRES28 Western hardwoods
- FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 1 Northern Pacific Border
- 2 Cascade Mountains
- 3 Southern Pacific Border
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
- K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K004 Fir - hemlock forest
- K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
- K009 Pine - cypress forest
- K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
- K011 Western ponderosa forest
- K012 Douglas-fir forest
- K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
- K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
- K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K029 California mixed evergreen forest
- K030 California oakwoods
- K034 Montane chaparral
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 205 Mountain hemlock
- 207 Red fir
- 211 White fir
- 215 Western white pine
- 218 Lodgepole pine
- 229 Pacific Douglas-fir
- 230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
- 231 Port-Orford-cedar
- 234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
- 238 Western juniper
- 243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
- 244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
- 245 Pacific ponderosa pine
- 246 California black oak
- 247 Jeffrey pine
- 248 Knobcone pine
- 249 Canyon live oak
- 256 California mixed subalpine
- 218 Lodgepole pine
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry
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