Of the approximately 600 species of oaks worldwide, roughly 21 are nat ive to California, organized into three groups: the red oaks (sometimes cal led black oaks), the golden oaks (or intermediate oaks), and the white oaks . This talk will focus on understanding the recent historical identities of the surviving Santa Clara County oaks.

Besides learning about the oa ks that surround us, Al will also talk about these and other oak mysteries:

Where does the blue oak group fit into the red/golden/white oak scheme? (So chromatically confusing!!)
Are native Califo rnia oaks super-closely related to oaks anywhere else in the world, or are they something special?
Is it tricky to apply a specific sci entific name to a California oak tree? (Spoiler alert: can be!)

Please join Al as he shares parts of his journey examining the many mysteries of California oaks.

Al Keuter’s sleuthin g into oak mysteries began in 2013. Since then, he’s ventured ever deeper i nto the science of leaf and fruit measurements, joining with DNA scientists in publishing three scientific papers exploring California red oak evoluti on and development.

While volunteering as a curator at the Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, he has generated 40,000+ images, and made 900 collections of fruit a nd leaves from more than 500 oak trees in 38 California counties. He has al so accumulated a personal oak reference library of 700+ books and manuscrip ts dating back to the 1600s.

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