Lushutseed Name: čaʔadᶻac (pronounced ch-ah-dawtz)

Also called the Oregon White Oak

Location: Southeast corner of Benson hall, towering above the patio.

Historical Background:  The Coast Salish peoples soak the acorns to remove tannins before eating. The Saanich used the bark for medicine against health conditions like tuberculosis. The wood is difficult to season without warping, so it has no commercial value. However it has been used experimentally in Oregon for creating casks for aging wine.

Native

Native Range: From B.C., Washington, Oregon, to California

Identifying Features light: This tree is the only oak native to Washington state or British Columbia, however, habitat loss due to land conversion for human uses has made it far more difficult to see in the wild here. As a white oak, it exhibits the classic deeply round-lobed deciduous leaves, a shiny light to dark green above, a paler and hairy beneath, up to 5’ (12cm) in length. Bark is light gray and develops thick furrows and ridges early in life, supporting a trunk growing to about 80” (25m) with heavy limbs and low apical control. As an oak, the species also produces acorns, nutlike seed containers smooth and barrel shaped, ending in a tip on one end and capped by a rough cup where they meet the branch. Garry oaks may live as much as 500 years.

Identifying Features In Depth (for app):

1. Form: Large and spreading when the environment allows, heavy-limbed and broad, up to about 80” (25m) in height. They have been known to obtain trunk diameters greater than 8 feet.

2. Leaves: Leaves are deciduous and grow alternately. They are deeply lobed (rounded), about 5’ (12cm) in length. The top achieves a shiny dark green in color, with the bottom greenish yellow and sprouting small hairs. In spring they are a light green and in fall turn a yellow-brown before falling.

3. Bark: Light grey in color and becoming thickly furrowed and ridged even early in life.

4. Reproductive Bodies: Male reproductive bodies appear as hanging catkins as leaves appear. Female flowers appear in similar hanging clusters or single flowers and give rise to barrel shaped acorns tapering to a tip and capped by a shallow rough cup. Acorns grow to a little over 1’ (3cm) in length and are mature in fall.