Quercus durata 20.086

Endemic to California, this small evergreen oak is often a prickly presence  off-trail in the California foothills; the stiff, very spiny leaves are easy to identify as they scratch you in passing.  To 10 ft tall, these can stand as single specimens or form dense thickets or hedges in full sun to light shade and well-drained soil with little or no summer water once established. Frost hardy to the low teens F, USDA zone 8.