Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
Introductory
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
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Huckleberry oak growing in a draw of Kennedy Canyon, Stanislaus National Forest. Photo by Janet L. (Howard) Fryer,
U.S. Forest Service, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
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AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Howard, Janet L. 1992. Quercus vacciniifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/quevac/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
QUEVAC
SYNONYMS :
Quercus chrysolepis var. vaccinifolia (Kell.) Engelm.
Quercus vacciniifolia Kell. [31]
SCS PLANT CODE :
QUVA
COMMON NAMES :
huckleberry oak
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].
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
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].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
STATES :
CA NV OR
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
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 :
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
HABITAT TYPES AND 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 communitites of California [26]
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
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 :
The palatability of huckleberry oak for livestock and deer is rated as
follows [21]:
mule deer: fair to poor
cattle: poor to useless
sheep: poor to useless
goats: poor to useless
horses: useless
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION 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 AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Unwanted huckleberry oak can be controlled by applying 2,4-D or triclopr
ester to freshly cut stumps, or by grubbing out root crowns [24].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
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 :
Phanerophyte
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].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
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].
Overstory associates not listed as SAF cover types 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].
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].
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].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
FIRE ECOLOGY OR 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].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Small shrub, adventitious-bud rootcrown
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Huckleberry oak is top-killed by fire [3,24]. The percentage of
individuals suffering complete kill following moderate and severe fires
is undocumented.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
The postfire recovery rate of huckleberry oak is undocumented.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
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].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Quercus vacciniifolia
REFERENCES :
1. Atzet, Thomas; Wheeler, David L. 1984. Preliminary plant associations of
the Siskiyou Mountain Province. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 278 p. [9351]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Biswell, Harold H. 1974. Effects of fire on chaparral. In: Kozlowski, T.
T.; Ahlgren, C. E., eds. Fire and ecosystems. New York: Academic Press:
321-364. [14547]
4. Clark, Harold W. 1937. Association types in the North Coast Ranges of
California. Ecology. 18: 214-230. [11187]
5. Cooper, W. S. 1922. The broad-sclerophyll vegetation of California.
Publ. No. 319. Washington, DC: The Carnegie Institution of Washington.
145 p. [6716]
6. Dodd, Richard S. 1992. Noteworthy collections: California. Madrono.
39(1): 79. [17536]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
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8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
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Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Hawk, Glenn Martin. 1977. Comparative study of temperate Chamaecyparis
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[9759]
10. Holland, Robert F. 1986. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial
natural communities of California. Sacramento, CA: California Department
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11. Keeler-Wolf, Todd. 1986. An ecological survey of the proposed Stone
Corral - Josephine Peridotite Research Natural Area (L. E. Horton -
Darlingtonia Bog Research Nat. Area) on the Six Rivers National Forest,
Del Norte County, California. Purchase order # 40-9AD6-5-907.
Unpublished report on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
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[12307]
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of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
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14. McKee, Arthur. 1990. Castanopsis chrysophylla (Dougl.) A. DC. giant
chinkapin. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical
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654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:
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distribution, ecology, and relationships to other oaks. In: Plumb,
Timothy R., technical coordinator. Proceedings of the symposium on the
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Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range
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geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
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brushlands and browse plants. Berkeley, CA: University of California,
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[7218]
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