Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; 3" to 5" long, 2" to 5" wide; deciduous; margin with 5 to 9 lobes; openings between lobes extending 2/3 or more to the midrib; lobes bristle-tipped; petiole up to 2" long, slender.

Twigs/buds: Twigs green to reddish-brown or brown, hairless; thin; crooked; have many short and pin-like spur twigs.  Buds red-brown, hairless; 1/8" long, angled, and sharp-pointed.

Flowers/fruit: Monoecious.  Fruit an acorn; 1/2" long, often striped, nearly hemispherical; thin, saucer-like cap encloses acorn only at the base; matures in two seasons.

Bark: Thick; gray-brown; smooth for many years; eventually with low, tight, scaly ridges.

Wood: Important; light brown; like Q. rubra; a member of the red oak group which has the following characteristics: heartwood brown with some red coloration, sapwood almost white; pores usually open and not plugged with tyloses (unlike the white oak group); heavy; old-growth wood finer-textured and softer than second-growth wood; high drying shrinkage; used for lumber, veneer, pulpwood, fuel, flooring, millwork, furniture, pallets, boxes, caskets, handles, wooden ware, agricultural implements, boats, and railroad cars; can be used for railroad ties, fence posts and mine timbers when treated with preservatives.

General: Native to east-central U.S. where it is found mostly on moist, low-lying sites.  Shade intolerant.  Acorns can be a nuisance.  Rarely should be planted, though limited use in specific situations may be justified.

Landscape Use: Widely planted in the east as an ornamental because of its attractive, upright canopy and nice fall color.  Occasionally planted in Utah and can be found in nurseries, but suffers severely from iron chlorosis on our high pH soils and rarely should be planted.  Zones 4-8.

Cultivars: 'Crownright', 'Green Pillar', 'Sovereign'.

Characteristics