"Quercus" is the classical Latin name for Oaks and "gambelii" honors William Gambel, 19th century Western plant collector and Assistant Curator of the National Academy of Sciences. (More biographical information about Gambel.)  

    Click for more Quercus gambelii photographs.    

Foothills, montane. Shrublands, woodlands. Spring, summer.
Above: Echo Basin Road, October 7, 2016 and along the Dolores River, September 29, 2009.
Left: Robertson Pasture Trail, Abajo Mountains, Utah, May 30, 2006; Dolores River Canyon, June 19, 2008; Echo Basin, June 9, 2020.

Gambel's Oak forms open stands in meadows and it forms thick, almost impenetrable short scrub stands on canyon sides.  If water is plentiful, the trees will grow to over a foot in diameter and 35 feet tall, but most often they are about eight inches in diameter and sixteen feet tall.

It is common for the first trees in a stand to grow straight. Trees that sprout from the roots of the first trees lean outward. 

Since Gambel Oak spreads from underground roots, it sprouts after fires and regenerates quickly. 

Gambel Oak produces an abundance of acorns that are a major source of food for wild turkey, deer, bear, and squirrels.

Click for another forest view of Quercus gambelii with Mahonia repens.

Foothills, montane. Shrublands, woodlands. Spring, summer.
Robertson Pasture Trail, Abajo Mountains, Utah, May 31, 2016.

This clone has the typical Gambel's Oak longitudinal furrows but these furrows are cut horizontally, resulting in bark that looks very much like that of the Alligator Juniper.

The male pollen-bearing catkins are nearly ready to open in the top picture.  Numerous clusters of these exotic looking chains produce abundant yellow pollen ensuring pollination of the female (acorn-producing) flower (see pictures below).  Since male and female flowers are on the same tree, Oaks are said to be "monoecious".  Pollen from the male flowers is so abundant that it coats everything around – cars, roads, picnic tables, household furniture, noses.

Foothills, montane. Shrublands, woodlands. Spring, summer.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, May 14, 2006. (Top two photographs)
Echo Basin Road, June 7, 2004.

Quite inconspicuous red female flowers, tucked into the axils of the just emerging leaves at the tip of the stem, mature slowly into acorns. The tiny acorns pictured in the bottom photograph are less than a quarter of an inch across and the red flowers in the top two pictures are about a sixteenth of an inch across. 

Foothills, montane. Shrublands, woodlands. Spring, summer.
Above: Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 19, 2006.

Orange lichen (most likely a Xanthoria species) are common on Gambel Oaks.

Foothills, montane. Shrublands, woodlands. Spring, summer.
Lower Stoner Mesa Trail, June 12, 2000.

New spring leaves of Gambel’s Oak are often red (as is the case in many other plants) because chlorophyll has not yet masked the original colors (produced by anthocyanins).  In the fall, the chlorophyll fades and the reds reappear.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Quercus gambelii  

Click for more Quercus gambelii photographs.