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Under the Oak Trees

I fell in love with oak trees on a chilly day in January 2011. I was visiting friends in Davis and decided to explore. I decided to check out the arboretum and eventually happened upon the oak collection.

UC Davis Oak Collection
UC Davis Oak Collection

At that moment in my life, I had no home, no job, and no plan. I was bouncing around Northern California, from San Francisco down to Santa Cruz and then up to Davis. I was feeling a lot of stress from being transient, trying to find some direction in my life. When I began wandering the path through the oaks, admiring the stately trees, with their various forms and leaf shapes, I felt at peace. It was not long after that I decided to stay in Yolo County, with the dream of studying something related to agriculture at UC Davis. Although my plan didn’t work out quite as I imagined, I remained enchanted by those oak trees.

UC Davis Oak Collection

UC Davis Oak Collection


California has many endemic oak species, and during the last few years, I got to know a few of these unique trees. Perhaps the most visible is the valley oak, Quercus lobata, which grows in warmer areas like the Sacramento Valley or the East Bay Hills. Valley oaks can grow quite tall, and their limbs often hang down from the top of the tree towards the earth. In the winter, the trees' limbs are bare, which forms a beautiful contrast to the green fields around them.  In summer time the dark green leaves stand out against the parched grasses. The leaves of the valley oaks have a beautiful lobed shape and the shade they provide is a real blessing for animals and people in the scorching valley summers.

Valley oaks near Esparto, CA

Valley Oaks near Esparto, CA

Valley Oak leaves


Valley oaks in winter

Valley Oaks in Spring

Then there’s Tucker's oak, Quercus john-tuckeri, which I encountered growing along with junipers on the slopes of the rugged Caliente Mountains in Southern California. These diminutive oak trees can withstand dry conditions and have tiny spine-toothed leaves. The leaves have a brownish color and they seemed dead to me at first glance, but these unique oaks are very much alive.

Caliente Mountains, March 2017

I will always associate oak trees with my first time at the UC Davis arboretum oak collection. An encounter with oak trees represents peace, contemplation, the sense of awe and gratitude that comes from being in the presence of nature's beauty. Oak trees also symbolize a renewed sense of optimism and possibility that comes from change and new beginnings.

Magnolia Ranch, December 2016

Blue Oak woodland in the wintertime near Folsom, CA

Pinnacles NP, March 2017

Sunol Regional Wilderness, April 2017

Blue Oak forest at Briones Regional Park, May 2017

Canyon Live Oak Forest, North Yuba River Canyon, May 2017
Black Oak tree in the McCloud River Canyon, June 2017

Tanoak acorns at Myrtle Creek Botanical Area, September 2017


Canyon Live Oaks in the South Yuba River Canyon, August 2017

Only one oak tree is native to Washington State, Quercus garryana, known as the Garry Oak or Oregon White Oak. I’ve seen these stately trees, growing along Interstate 5 near the Joint Base Lewis McChord, and in Lakewood, where I’ve been going for work recently. Seeing the oak trees, whether it’s in Davis, Mendocino County or here in the Puget Sound Area, always brings a peaceful, optimistic feeling. 
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