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Mexican Blue Oak

The Quercus Oblongifolia is commonly known as Blue Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, as well as White Oak

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Growing Regions

Mexican blue oak is found from the Santa Catalina Mountains of southeastern Arizona into the southwestern corner of New Mexico [7,12,22,27,37]. It occurs infrequently in western Texas [35]. Scattered populations are found from Coahuila westward to Baja California Sur, Mexico [27,44,46].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of Mexican blue oak is Quercus oblongifolia Torr. It is a member of the beech family (Fagaceae) [22,37]. There are no recognized infrataxa.

Mexican blue oak is dominant in pure or mixed stands in lower elevation
(less than 5,200 feet [1,585 m]), open, evergreen oak woodlands.  In
encinal communities Arizona white oak (Quercus arizonica) and Emory oak
(Q. emoryi) are codominant with Mexican blue oak and replace it at
higher elevations [8,24,28,32,45].  The Mexican blue oak habitat series
is transitional into semidesert grasslands.  Juniper (Juniperus spp.)
and pinyon (Pinus spp.) occur occasionally in communities where Mexican
blue oak is dominant [5,24,32].  Mexican blue oak is a climax understory
species in the Chihuahua pine (Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana) series
[24].  In the mesic canyons of the southern Trans-Pecos area of Texas,
Mexican blue oak is a characteristic member of the gray oak (Quercus
grisea) series [41].  Mexican blue oak is listed as a dominant or
indicator species in the following publications:

(1)  Forest and woodland habitat types (plant associations) of Arizona
      south of the Mogollon Rim and southwestern New Mexico [3]
(2)  Preliminary classification for the coniferous forest and woodland
      series of Arizona and New Mexico [24]
(3)  Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains: community types and
      dynamics [33]
(4)  Riparian forest and scrubland community types of Arizona and New
      Mexico [40]
(5)  Plant communites of Texas (Series level) [41].

Species associated with Mexican blue oak that were not previously
mentioned in the Distribution and Occurrence information are Arizona
rosewood (Vauquelinia californica), shrubby buckwheat (Eriogonum
wrightii), catclaw mimosa (Mimosa biuncifera), bullgrass (Muhlenbergia
emersleyi), plains lovegrass (Eragrostis intermedia), fendlerbush
(Fendlera rupicola), and wolftail (Lycurus pheleoides) [2,3,5,17].

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Pavek, Diane S. 1993. Quercus oblongifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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