Mexican Blue Oak is a small to medium semi-evergreen oak of the sky island mountains and border ranges of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and Mexico, easily identified by its distinctively blue-gray, oval, untoothed leaves. It grows at the lower elevations of the Madrean oak woodland zone, often intermixing with Emory Oak and desert grassland species. Its small acorns are produced annually and are a critical food resource in this biodiverse but food-limited landscape.
Habitat
Lower mountain slopes, desert grassland margins, oak savannas, 3,500–5,500 ft elevation
Diet
Acorns eaten by white-tailed deer, javelinas, coatis, and birds including Mexican jays and acorn woodpeckers
How common
Uncommon
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