Scrub oak trees flourish in Anza

This healthy scrub oak tree is growing in Anza. Anza Valley Outlook/Diane Sieker photo
The California scrub oak, often taken for granted, is a native shrub that provides food, shelter and shade for people, animals and insects.Quercus berberidifolia is the most common variety of scrub oak in the Anza Valley known by several common names, including Inland scrub oak, California scrub oak and just plain scrub oak. These trees can be found from the Northern California coastal foothills to Baja California, Mexico. They usually grow below 5,000 feet of elevation and are commonly associated with the chaparral plant community.Scrub oaks are small, evergreen shrubs, rarely growing taller than 10 feet, but larger 15-foot examples have been noted.These slow-growing plants are long-lived – up to several hundred years. In fire-prone areas, it can be difficult to tell the exa
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