Tanoak
Notholithocarpus densiflorus
Tanoak is a stately evergreen oak relative of the Pacific Coast, with leathery leaves and acorns that were a staple food for Indigenous peoples and remain vital wildlife mast. (Susceptible to sudden oak death.) The acorns were leached of bitter tannins over months in a stream or swamp before grinding into flour.
- Family
- Fagaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 125–125 ft
- Spacing
- 20–40 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- May, June, July, August, September, October
- Bloom colors
- yellow, green
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, pollinators
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- CA, OR