Included here are all parts of California experiencing a Mediterranean type climate with the Central Valley forming the heartland of the area. The temperate forests include both coniferous and broad-leaf forests.

Californian Lowland Oak Forests

In the Central Valley and surrounding foothills there are extensive oak forests dominated by endemic trees such as Quercus duglasii, Q. labata (Fagaceae), and Pinus sabiniana (Pinaceae) making this an exclusively Californian community. Other associated endemic trees include Aesculus californica (Sapindaceae), Arbutus menziesii (Ericaceae), Juglans californica (Juglandaceae), Pinus coulteri (Pinaceae), Quercus agrifolia (Fagaceae) and Umbellularia californica (Lauraceae), while associated shrubs include Ceanothus cuneatus, Ribes quercetorum, Toxicodendron diversilobum and endemics such as Artemisia tridentata (Asteraceae) and Eriodictyon californicum (Boraginaceae). In places the trees become more widely spaced forming a type of woodland savanna with a grassy ground cover of annual species such as Avena barbata and A. fatua.

References

Barbour, M. G. 1977. Terrestrial Vegetation of California. John Wiley and Sons.

Barbour, M. G. 1989. Californian upland forests and woodlands. Franklin, R. K. 1989. Pacific northwest forests. In: North American Terrestrial Vegetation. Eds. M. G. Barbour and W. D. Billings. Cambridge University Press.

Barbour, M., Pavlik, B., Drysdale, F. & Lindstrom, S. 1993. California’s Changing Landscape (Only Coastal Interface). California Native Plant Society. Sacramento.

Brown, D. E. 1982. Californian Evergreen Forest and Woodland. In: Desert Plants.  Biotic communities of the American southwest United States and Mexico. Ed. D. E. Brown. University of Arizona. 

Brown, D. E. 1982. Relict Conifer Forest and Woodland. In: Desert Plants.  Biotic communities of the American southwest United States and Mexico. Ed. D. E. Brown. University of Arizona.

Cooper, W, S. 1971. The broad-sclerophyll vegetation of California. In: World Vegetation Types.  Ed. S. R. Eyre. Macmillan.

Griffin, J. R. 1977. Oak Woodlands. In: Terrestrial Vegetation of California. Eds. M. G. Barbour and J. Major. John Wiley & Sons.

Lewis, H. 1972. The origin of endemics in the Californian flora. In: Taxonomy, Phytogeography and Evolution. Ed. D. H. Valentine. Academic Press.

Philbrick, R. N. & Haller, J. R. 1977. The southern Californian islands. In: Terrestrial Vegetation of California. Eds. M. G. Barbour and J. Major. John Wiley & Sons.

Qian, H. 1999. Floristic analysis of vascular plant genera of North America north of Mexico: characterization and phytogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 26: 1307-1321.

Ricketts, T. h. et al. 1999. Terrestrial Ecosystems of North America - a conservation assessment. World Wildlife Fund, USA and Canada. Island Press, Washington.

Shevock, J. R. 1996. Status of rare and endemic plants. U. S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, San Francisco, California.

Sims, P. L. 1989. Grasslands.  In: North American Terrestrial Vegetation. Eds M. G. Barbour and W. D. Billings.  Cambridge University Press.

Stebbins, G. L. & Major, J. 1960. Endemism and speciation in the Californian flora. Ecological Monographs. 35: 1-35.

Vogl, R. J., Armstrong, W. P., White, K. L. & Cole, K. L. 1977. The closed-cone pine and cypress. In: Terrestrial Vegetation of California. Eds. M. G. Barbour and J. Major. John Wiley & Sons.

Westman, W. E. & Whittaker, R. H. 1975. The pygmy forest region of northern California: studies on the biomass and primary production. Journal of Ecology, 63: 493-520.