Quercus pungens  Sandpaper Oak
DECIDUOUS TREE.  A shrub or small tree with sharply lobed rough-hairy leaves that are wavy or curly, not flat.  Leaves fall in October and sprout in late March when the flowers appear.  In Texas, this oak is a large tree.  In the Empires, near the western edge of its range, it is restricted to limestone and marble, and forms gnarled miniature groves on marble ridges.  Common in suitable habitat; also found in the Whetstone Mts. and near Helvetia in the Santa Rita Mts.  The only oak in the Empires with truly seasonally-deciduous leaves.
FAMILY:  Fagaceae (Beech Family)