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Quercus kelloggii
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==Uses== Some California [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] prefer California black oak acorns over those of other species for making acorn meal. Historically, this acorn was a [[staple food]] for many Native American groups,<ref name="FNA"/><ref>[http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Quercus+kelloggii Ethnobotany]</ref> who usually leached out the bitter [[tannin]].<ref name=":022" /> Native Americans recognized the importance of fire to this oak, and purposely lit fires in oak woodlands to promote its health and ensure their food source.<ref name="FEIS"/> The [[wood]] is used for making furniture, [[pallet]]s, and construction timber.<ref name="FEIS"/> The tree is used as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental]].<ref name="FEIS"/> ===Timber=== California black oak comprises a total volume of 29% of California's hardwood timber resources, and is the major hardwood sawn into lumber there. The total estimated area of species occurrence is 361,800 hectares (3,618 square kilometers or 894,000 acres); 239,200 ha (2,392 km<sup>2</sup> or 591,000 acres) of timberland and 122,600 ha (1,226 km<sup>2</sup> or 303,000 acres) of woodland. Of this land 60% is privately owned, 31% is in National Forests, and 9% is on other public lands. It has greatly decreased from its historic abundance. This is due to a number of factors, including drought, disease, animal foraging, logging practices, fire suppression, and a variety of other human impacts. Cutting green trees for fuelwood has contributed to the decline of this species, and illegal harvesting of green trees from public lands is a continuing problem. It was long considered by foresters and government agencies to be a weed tree. In its earlier years, its only use to settlers was to feed the boilers of donkey engines bringing in the valuable pine and fir logs. For a period in the mid-1960s, the U.S. Forest Service policy in California's National Forests was systematic extermination of California black oak by girdling the trees.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} The objective was to make room for more coniferous growth. In the rush to use the pines, firs, and redwoods, the dense hardwoods were looked on with contempt. Like a few other visionaries in the 1960s, [[Guy Hall]] thought the California black oak presented a beautiful challenge that deserved better than eradication. In 1965, Hall convinced federal agencies to cease their extermination policies. [[Plantation]]s of California black oak have been successfully established in clearcuts from acorn plantings. Thinning such stands promotes stand productivity and wood quality, and is recommended when trees are from {{cvt|9|β|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall or when stand density (basal area) exceeds 29 m<sup>2</sup>/ha (125 ft<sup>2</sup>/acre). This tree has also been managed for hardwood production by maintaining scattered pure stands within coniferous forests. Stands of this species often establish on poorer sites, where conifer seedling establishment has not been successful. ===Cultivation=== ''Q. kelloggii'' is cultivated in the specialty [[horticulture]] trade as an ornamental tree for [[native plant]], [[xeriscape|drought-tolerant]], water-conserving, and [[habitat garden]]s, and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape and [[ecological restoration|restoration]] projects.
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