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young bark= ◼︎ light gray, old bark=darker gray ridged or flaky; buds=short (3–6 mm) (⅛–¼ in) or young bark=smooth shiny, old bark=smooth ridged or flaky; buds=conical or ovate :
buds=∧ pointed or buds=∩ rounded :
buds=dark-red, scales=hairy, bark=fissured, crown=openchestnut oak Quercus prinus buds=chestnut-brown, scales=hairless; bark=flaky, crown=narrow dense, trunk=buttressed[?]chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii
trunk bark has scales you can easily rub off or trunk bark furrowed, has few scales you can rub off :
young twigs have coarse downpost oak Quercus stellata young twigs smooth, 🌰︎ acorns paired on long stalks🇬🇧 English oak Quercus robur 🌰︎ acorns not on stalks◼︎ white oak Quercus alba
twigs=thick hairy, buds=hairybur oak Quercus macrocarpa twigs=thick hairy, buds=smooth♒︎ ◼︎ swamp white oak Quercus bicolor
small contorted shrubby tree or normal tree :
all buds=short (<3 mm) (<⅛ in)scrub oak Quercus ilicifolia all buds=long (>3 mm) (>⅛ in)◼︎ blackjack oak Quercus marilandica
single straight trunk with lower branches droopingpin oak Quercus palustris bud scales covered w/gray wool, inner bark=yellow (wait a minute)◼︎ black oak Quercus velutina lower part cluttered with dead branchesnorthern pin oak Quercus ellipsoidalis 🌰︎ acorn cup=deep like a wineglass or 🌰︎ acorn cup=shallow like a saucer :
🌰︎ acorn on short stalkshingle oak Quercus imbricaria 🌰︎ acorn tip has concentric rings◼︎ scarlet oak Quercus coccinea
🌰︎ acorns=near-black, with bright orange kernel♒︎ water oak Quercus nigra
🌰︎ acorns=long (12–25 mm) (½–1 in), bark ridges w/long smooth sections◼︎ northern red oak Quercus rubra
🌰︎ acorns=short (<12 mm) (<½ in), bark ridges narrow scaly◼︎ southern red oak Quercus falcata 🌰︎ acorns=short (<12 mm) (<½ in), bark ridges narrow NOT-scalywillow oak Quercus phellos
Part of beech / oak family Fagaceae in bayberry / beech / birch / oak / walnut order Fagales.
Native to the temperate and tropical areas in the 🌐︎ Northern Hemisphere, or very close. 🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48) (color key).
In many areas:do not move firewood (ever), anddo not prune February through June (Texas) or April 15 through July 15 (🇺🇸 USA Midwest and East),due to possible infestation by oak wilt disease (OWD) Bretziella fagacearum.
Uses by native peoples(Ethnobotany database) Leaves and acorns ☠︎ toxic[?] to humans, although many cultures process acorns to remove their tannins, making acorns an important staple food.
Quercus hosts caterpillars of 534 speciesof butterflies and moths, in some areas. This plant is also known to be a host for (in areas where invasive) 🐝︎ spotted lanternfly (SLF) Lycorma delicatula.
If your oak is growing a few meters (yards) from a potential parent tree, its acorn probably fell there or was planted by a squirrel family Sciuridae. If your oak is growing a kilometer (mile) away from a potential parent tree, its acorn was probably planted by a 🐦︎ jay family Corvidae, with whom it coevolved. — That and lots more interesting information in interview "Our Most Essential Trees: The Nature of Oaks, with Doug Tallamy" The joe gardener Show. 2021-04-29 or its 🔊︎ audio (Your browser does not support online audio control tag. Please use this link to the audio instead.)
Oaks account for more tree biomass than any other genus in North America and Mexico. [1]
🔍︎ 🔍︎ images Discover Life Encyclopedia of Life Michigan Flora (Minnesota) Wild Flower Garden Minnesota Wildflowers Flora of North America NRCS PLANTS db Wikipedia
[1] "How Oak Trees Evolved to Rule the Forests of the Northern Hemisphere." Scientific American. 2020-08-01. Accessed 2022-12-12.
🏠︎ terrestrial woody plants that had 🌳︎ broadleaves 🍃︎ now gone 🌳︎🍃︎ broadleaf branches, ╟ alternate, list of attributes 🌳︎🍁︎ 📅︎ broadleaves, a month or more after most other deciduous plants 🍃︎ lost their leaves, dormant season
🇦🇺 Australian pine or beach she-oak Casuarina equisetifolia
◼︎ white oak Quercus alba ♒︎ ◼︎ swamp white oak Quercus bicolor ◼︎ scarlet oak Quercus coccinea northern pin oak Quercus ellipsoidalis ◼︎ southern red oak Quercus falcata scrub oak Quercus ilicifolia shingle oak Quercus imbricaria bur oak Quercus macrocarpa ◼︎ blackjack oak Quercus marilandica chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii ♒︎ water oak Quercus nigra pin oak Quercus palustris willow oak Quercus phellos chestnut oak Quercus prinus ◼︎ northern red oak Quercus rubra 🇬🇧 English oak Quercus robur post oak Quercus stellata ◼︎ black oak Quercus velutina southern live oak Quercus virginiana
X✋︎ Pacific poison oak Toxicodendron diversilobum ✋︎X X✋︎ Atlantic poison oak Toxicodendron pubescens ✋︎X
oak wilt disease (OWD) Bretziella fagacearum 🐝︎ spotted lanternfly (SLF) Lycorma delicatula