Kellogg Oak or California Black Oak Tree
The Kellogg Oak, or California Black Oak (Quercus Cali-fornica, Coop.), is large and beautiful, spreading wide its picturesquely gnarled branches covered with smooth, bright green leaves, mach like those of the Eastern red oak. It has also stout twigs and rough dark-coloured bark, and the reddish coarsegrained wood strengthens still farther the resemblance of the two trees. The acorns of the Western tree, however, sit in deep cups that half conceal them; the red oak holds its nuts in shallow saucers.The uplands only satisfy this Western black oak. It holds aloof from the plains and keeps back from the sea. Sunny open groves of it, mingled with white oaks, are common among conifers on mountain slopes and high valleys throughout California and north to the middle of Oregon.
The black bark of this oak is twice as rich in tannin as hemlock bark. The wood is rich in colour and wavy grained, but lumbermen dislike it. It dries very slowly, and is likely to be perforated with "pin knots," which mar and weaken it.