Quercus rugosa

Quercus rugosa is an evergreen shrub or tree.^[3] The bark is brown and scaly. The leaves are thick and leathery, rarely flat, usually cupped, up to 15 centimetres (6 inches) long, dark green on the top but covered with a thick of reddish-brown hairs on the underside.^[4][5] The young leaves are also very hairy and usually red or yellow.

Quercus rugosa is Latin for "wrinkled oak". In Spanish it has many common names, like "encino negro" (black oak) or "encino quiebra hacha" (axe-breaking oak). Colloquially it is known as "chaparro", a word which has also passed into the lexicon as slang for a short person.

It is widespread in Mexico, Guatemala and the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas).^{[6][7][8][9][10]} It grows extensively in the temperate highlands of central Mexico, particularly on hillsides and in narrow gorges, between 1,800 and 2,900 meters elevation.^[1] It is associated and usually coexists with other oaks, alders, pines and Texas madrones. The Netleaf Oak has been widely planted in California cities as a drought-tolerant street tree, following street tree die-offs during dry spells^[11].

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  Quercus rugosa flowers.
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  A specimen in Emeryville, CA.
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  Underside of the leaves.
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  Leaves.
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  Immature leaves are quite red.
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  Leaves and acorns.
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  Sample of dried leaves and acorns from Hackfalls Arboretum.
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  Detail of Bark.

• Madrean pine-oak woodlands
• Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests