Encyclopedia
of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and VinesEncyclopedia
of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and Vines
FAGACEAE (Oak or beech family) The word 'quercus' means 'oak' in Latin and survives in Italian as 'quercia.' The prefix 'agri' refers to a field (as in agriculture). Therefore, agrifolia means field-like leaf. The leaves more resemble the leaves of a holly (family Aquifoliaceae) than they do a field; so why is our favorite tree not named Q. aquifolia? Though the meanings are often of interest, it would be tedious to give the meanings of all the generic and specific names of our trees, which in any case are obtainable from any Stanford botanist or from W.T. Stearn, Botanical Latin, 4th ed. 1995.
The coast live oak (not to be confused with the live oak Q. virginiana of the Southern United States) has tough convex leaves one or 2 inches long with a few spiny teeth. In spring the oaks liberate great quantities of pollen from hanging catkins. The separate female flowers later produce acorns about 1-1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. Widely distributed by squirrels, and stored by woodpeckers in custom-drilled holes in tree trunks and wood siding, the acorns germinate freely all over the campus, especially where there is some ground cover.
The coast live oak is in vogue for landscaping, being perhaps the most popular single species of large tree at Stanford. It reaches an age of 200 to 300 years; an idea of the rate of growth may be gained from the row along Lasuen Mall next to the Quad, which is said to have been planted in 1918. An ancient tree on Serra Street and Lasuen Mall at the southwest corner of the Graduate School of Business, which was adopted by the class of 1895 as the Pioneer Oak, was still standing when this site was created in 2005 [See Campus Report 19 June 2008, Time has come for Stanford's last officially certified historic tree]. Gone is one of the university's most beloved specimens, which stood guard at the Mausoleum until it was removed in 1993, a victim of leaf and twig diseases cryptocline and diplodia. Estimated to be 300 years old, it measured 70 feet tall, with a trunk diameter of 55 inches and a branch spread of 120 feet. Wood from the tree was incorporated into the round table (the unusual spiral pattern) in the rotunda of Green Library's Bing Wing. An example of apparent success moving a mature Q. agrifolia can be seen at Homer Park, across from 315 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto. The 35-foot-tall specimen (weighing nearly 35 tons!) was transplanted to the site in August 2003.
Illustration: McMinn, Howard E. and Evelyn Maino. 1951. An illustrated manual of Pacific coast trees; with lists of trees recommended for various uses on the Pacific coast by H. W. Shepherd. 2d ed. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.
Other campus oaks: Quercus -- Oak Notes | Quercus agrifolia | Quercus cerris | Quercus chrysolepis | Quercus coccifera calliprinos | Quercus coccinea | Quercus diversifolia | Quercus douglasii | Quercus engelmannii | Quercus greggii | Quercus ilex | Quercus kelloggii | Quercus lobata | Quercus macrocarpa | Quercus marilandica | Quercus mexicana | Quercus palustris | Quercus parvula shreveii | Quercus robur | Quercus rubra | Quercus suber | Quercus virginiana | Quercus wislizeni
Illustrations (links open new windows): a great oak falls | oak gallery
Additions/Revisions: The most numerous tree on campus.Name derivation, genus | species
Related material: Canopy Trees for Palo Alto Tree Library Botanical
name index | Common name index | Family
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