Re: Some musings on current local tree diseases/Pinus radiata

davidfeix@yahoo.com, mark@lamorran.fsworld.co.uk

> David Feix wrote:
>
>> A few of the "facts" quoted in the article are also
>> not quite right.  Coast Live Oaks are by no means
>> rare, they are still abundant along most of the
>> coastal ranges, and one of the most common oaks in
>> California.  There are several other Live Oak species
>> such as Q. chrysolepis in inland areas and Q.
>> engelmannii in southern California which tend to
>> replace Q. agrifolia, the most common species in the
>> San Francisco Bay Area.
>
> I agree completely with most of David's post, but one small part is not
> quite right.  Quercus agrifolia is also the most common oak in southern
> California.  Quercus engelmanii is less drought-tolerant than Q. agrifolia.
> It tends to cluster around sources of underground water, like fault lines
> where soil, rock, and gravel strata are discontinuous and water often flows
> near the surface.  This happens along the Raymond Hill Fault in Pasadena (I
> live  and work on it).  Q. engelmanii occurs all along the faultline (or
> used to before Homo californicus became addicted to building right on
> earthquake faults.)

I meant to add, Q. engelmanii has now virtually taken on the classification
of a rare endemic--certainly in the more intensely developed areas of
southern California.

John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23
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