Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; 6" to 8" long; deciduous; margin with 5 to 9 lobes; openings between lobes extending more than halfway to the midrib; lobes bristle-tipped with many coarse teeth; good deep red fall color; petiole slender.

Twigs/buds: Twigs gray to gray-brown, hairless; greenish-brown and sheathed like an onion when older.  Buds pale grayish-brown, hairless; somewhat egg-shaped, large (1/4" to 3/8" in length); scales overlapping, appearing waxy.

Flowers/fruit: Monoecious.  Fruit an acorn; 3/4" to 1-1/4" long, red-brown, ovoid, short or no stalk; base covered with thick, saucer-like cap covered with small, shingle-like scales; matures in two seasons.

Bark: Dark gray, relatively smooth; becomes deeply furrowed.

Wood: Important; like Q. rubra; a member of the red oak group which has the following characteristics: heartwood brown with some red, 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 eastern and southeastern U.S. on moist sites.  Tolerates high soil pH and some drought.  Intermediate shade tolerance.

Landscape Use: Used similarly to pin oak, but less prone to iron chlorosis.  Good fall color.  Rarely planted in Utah but could be more; hard to find.  Zones 5-9.

Comments & Limitations: Acorns can be a nuisance.

Characteristics