Scientific Name
Quercus ‘Folsom Gray’ ‘Folsom Gray Oak’
The Folsom Gray oak can be categorized within the wavyleaf oak (Quercus undulata) complex, which includes various hybrid trees of the dry southwestern states with possible genetic contributions from gray oak (Quercus grisea), Havard shin oak (Quercus havardii), Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), and several others, all members of the white oak group whose ranges overlap.
The parent of this cultivar was discovered near Folsom, New Mexico, by the late plant explorer Allan Taylor of Boulder, Colorado, who donated this tree to Regis. The original tree is around 20 feet tall and has silver-gray, tardily deciduous foliage. Dr. Taylor identified gray oak as its predominant genetic component but had no doubt it was a hybrid because of the great variation in form among its sister seedlings.
It has been planted on the berm around the stormwater detention pond near the Regis Residence Village along with other xeric trees, mostly oaks, as an experiment to see how they perform in our climate on infertile soil.