Growth Form: Relatively small tree, at most attaining a height of 50 feet, usually much shorter and often very gnarled; trunk diameter up to 1½ feet; crown exceedingly round-topped, with numerous lower branches hanging downward.
Bark: Dark brown, shallowly ridged.
Twigs: Moderately stout, brown, more or less hairy; pith star-shaped in cross-section; leaf scars alternate but clustered near the top, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces.
Buds: Angular, from ¼-½ inch long, somewhat hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades about 4-8 inches long, leathery, very much broader near the apex than the base, mostly rounded or even somewhat heart shaped at the base, more or less 3-lobed and bristle-tipped nearer the apex, the upper surface hairy at first, becoming shiny dark green at maturity, the lower surface permanently hairy; leafstalks less than 1 inch long.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate on the same tree, appearing as the leaves unfold, inconspicuous, the staminate crowded in a catkin, the pistillate solitary or 2-3 together.
Fruit: Ripening in October of the second year, on very short stalks, or the stalks sometimes lacking; acorns nearly round, usually at most only ½ inch in diameter, the cup enclosing ½ the acorn, with rather loosely arranged scales.
Wood: Hard, strong, heavy, dark brown.
Uses: Excellent as a source of charcoal and fuel.
Habitat: Poor soil, particularly on dry, exposed rocky cliffs.