Oak (3)

Gambel Oak
Quercus gambelii

Family: Beech (Fagaceae)
AKA: Scrub Oak, White Oak, Oak Brush
Photo taken on: May 12, 2015
Location: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM
Life Zones: Plains to montane
Habitat: Dry slopes, roadsides, open woods

Grows as a small tree or large shrub forming dense thickets to 20ft tall. Leaves are deeply lobed, leathery and shiny and up to 6" long. New leaves feel soft and velvety. They turn bronze in the Fall but remain on tree. The bark is rough and brownish-gray. Acorns are less than 1" long and edible.

Wavyleaf Oak
Quercus undulata

Family: Beech (Fagaceae)
AKA:
Photo taken on: September 1, 2009
Location: Quemazon, Los Alamos, NM
Life Zones: Plains to foothills
Habitat: Pinyon/Juniper/Ponderosa woods

Very similar to Gambel Oak in habit but leaves are not so deeply lobed.

Flora of North America considers it a hybrid of Gambel Oak.

Gray Oak
Quercus grisea

Family: Beech (Fagaceae)
AKA: Shin Oak, Scrub Oak
Photo taken on: August 18, 2014
Location: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM
Life Zones: Plains to foothills
Habitat: Pinyon/Ponderosa woodlands, rocky slopes

Also similar to Gambel Oak in habit but leathery leaves are dull, gray-green or yellowish with sharply toothed edges that have a spiny tip. The leaves have very prominent veins and star-shaped hairs on both sides.

Flora of North America reference.