Trees , evergreen or subevergreen, small to moderate-sized trees, rarely to 18 m. Bark scaly. Twigs yellowish, 1.5-2.5 mm diam., persistently felty-tomentose, eventually dingy gray. Buds dull russet-brown, ovoid, distally subacute or rounded, 3 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrate. Leaves: petiole to 3-10 mm. Leaf blade elliptic or oblong to narrowly obovate or oblanceolate, planar or moderately convex, to (30-)40-80(-90) × 15-30 mm, thick and leathery, usually stiff, base cordate or rounded and weakly cordate, margins entire or coarsely toothed especially near apex, cartilaginously revolute, teeth mucronate-tipped, obscure or prominent, secondary veins ca. 7-11 on each side, branching, passing into teeth when present, apex acute to usually obtuse or broadly rounded; surfaces abaxially dull, sparsely pubescent or subtomentose with curly branched hairs, reticulate from prominent, raised secondary veins, usually glaucous where exposed, adaxially dark or bluish green, moderately lustrous, sparsely and minutely stellate-pubescent, secondary veins slightly raised or prominent within depressions or impressed. Acorns solitary or paired, subsessile, occasionally on peduncle to 15 mm; cup hemispheric or cup-shaped, 5-10(-15) mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, enclosing ca. 1/2 nut, base rounded, margin rather coarse, scales cream to brown, broadly ovate, evenly and strongly tuberculate, tomentose, tips closely appressed; nut light brown, ovoid or oblong, 8-12 mm, nearly glabrous. Cotyledons connate.
Arroyos, canyons, foothills, bajadas, rocky slopes, ridges, or steep sideslopes with westerly to northerly exposures. Oak and pinyon woodlands, margins of chaparral, arroyos; at elevations from 1,300-2,500 metres, occasionally 3,000) metres.
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