Pallá

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)

  • Pallá is the largest species of oak tree found in California.

  • You can identify pallá by its thick, rigid bark and by the shape of its leaves, which are more deeply lobed than those of pikí (blue oak).

Valley Oak (photo by Miguel Vieira, CC BY 2.0)

Valley Oak leaves (photo by James St. John, CC BY 2.0)

Valley Oak leaves and acorns (photo by Jean Pawek, CC BY 3.0)

  • Pallá is endemic to California, i.e. it does not grow anywhere else in the world.
  • The uutí (acorns) of pallá are not as highly valued for consumption as those of other oak trees like pikí (blue oak) or hámsɨ (black oak). Rather, some Nisenan hunters used to bury them in mud in order to bait ducks (Beals 1933:349-50).

Uutí

Acorn

Homodíbe mɨɨm? (Where is it?) You can find pallá growing in the arbor area. Look for its deeply-lobed leaves and rigid bark (like alligator skin).

Esak’ahá daak’ábe mi c’aykɨ́ɨ? (Do you want to know more?) This webpage is part of a larger initiative to share signage highlighting plants found around the Shingle Springs Rancheria and their Nisenan names.

Webpage last updated: 2025-07-16