Gamble Oak Tree
Scientific name: Quercus Gambelii
Alternate Names: Scrub Oak, Rocky Mountain White Oak, Utah White Oak
Description: Deciduous shrub or tree with rounded crown, often in colonies from underground creeping root system. This is the characteristic oak of Arizona’s Oak Creek Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park and Colorado foothills south of Denver. Grows well on dry slopes.
Leaves: 2-7 inches long, 1.5 to 3.5 inches wide, with 7 to 11 deep lobes.
Gamble Oak in Canyon
They are smooth on the upper surface, hairy below. Dark green color turns to yellow, orange or reddish in fall.
Fruits: Broadly oval acorns, ¾ inch, are nearly half enclosed by a bowl-shaped cup with hairy scales.
Elevation: 5,000 to 8,000 feet.
Height: Shrub grows 15 to 30 feet tall, tree up to 60 feet
Gamble Oak Leaves
Diameter: 5 to 10 inches
Bark: Similar to White Oak’s bark, (gray, rought, narrow vertical block of scaly plates).
Habitat: Slopes and valleys, in mountains, foothills, plateaus; scattered with Ponderosa Pine.
Range: New Mexico, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nevada. Tolerant of both cold mountains and low, warmer areas.
Uses: Fence posts and fuel
Wildlife: Foliage is browsed by deer and sometimes livestock.
Gamble Oak Seeds
Wild Turkeys, squirrels, and other wildlife, as well as hogs and other domestic animals eat the sweetish acorns.
Gamble Oak Bark
