It seems that there are mixed feelings on some of these oaks and I guess it's time to investigate a little further.
You have five species of
native oaks in the Wrightwood area.
First, a definition of what a tree is: a tree has a single, woody trunk at six feet. Of course, you may find young or damaged ones that don't fit this description.
So, two species of the five species are trees, black oak
(Quercus kelloggii) and canyon live oak
(Quercus chrysolepis).
Black oak is easy to identify. It has lobed leaves that fall off after turning golden along about November. The new leaves are a very pretty pink in the spring. A good spot to see them is around the Big Pines USFS Station. See the leaves here:
http://www.iastate.edu/~bot356/species/aaImages/QuerKell.jpegCanyon live oak has evergreen leaves that are dark green on top and whitish or golden on the undersurface. This is the only "tree" oak with distinctly two-colored leaves. Those with with golden fuzz are seen here:
http://biology.csusb.edu/PlantGuideFolder/QuercusChrys/QuercusChrysFuzz.jpg and with silver gray fuzz here:
http://www.calflora.net/trees/images/canyonliveoak6.jpg.
Usually the margins of the leaves are smooth. However, if the tree has been burned or otherwise damaged, the new growth is very prickly and shrubby. A lot of it is on the left [south] side Hwy 2 just after Big Pines Hwy on your way to Grassy Hollow.
The shrubby or scrub oaks usually have several skinny, woody trunks growing from the base. All are evergreen or mostly so. The three species are interior live oak
(Quercus wislizenii var. frutescens), Tucker's oak
(Quercus john-tuckeri) and San Gabriel Mountains leather oak
(Quercus durata var. gabrielensis). I say "usually" because the trees in Wrightwood's picture look like they may be scrub oaks where the lower branches have been browsed off. I would need to see the upper and lower sides of a leaf. Dead ones will do.
Interior live oak has shiny green, smooth-edged leaves pretty much the same color on both sides. Often you can see a few yellow leaves on the plant as well. See the single colored leaves here:
http://www.calflora.net/trees/images/interiorliveoak6.jpg. Some examples are on the divide between Lone Pine and Swartout Canyons, Lytle Creek and Cajon Pass.
Leather oak and Tucker's oak are more difficult and probably are better told apart by location than anything else. Tucker's oak grows on the north-facing desert slopes while leather oak grows on granitic, south-facing coastal slopes. The best place to see leather oak is the first big turnout on the right side of Lone Pine just after you make the left off of Hwy 138 and start up the hill. (This is, by the way, an unusual location for them.) Leather oak leaves have golden hairs on the underside of the leaves and toothed margins that are slightly inrolled as shown here:
http://www.natureathand.com/Gallery/Quercus_durata_1868.jpgTucker's oak has a distinct gray look overall and is partially deciduous. The leaves are flat with irregularly-spaced spines and a grayish-green color. You can see these trees on the north side of Hwy 2 east of Desert Front Road and west of Hwy 138. They are next to the road on a rise. No images.
