Trees
Quercus lyrata
Overcup Oak
NATIVE
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Lobed leaves quite narrow in middle, wider past the middle
Credit: Kristie Gianopulos. Used with permission.
 
 
 
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Coefficient of Conservatism Values (more info)
Mountains
n/a
Piedmont
7
Coastal Plain
7
National Wetland Plant List Status (more info)
Eastern Mountains/Piedmont
OBL
Coastal Plain
OBL

FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:

Note lighter undersides of 7-lobed leaves and distinctive acorns when present. Leaves quite narrow in middle.

Description: Medium to large deciduous tree up to 30 m tall.

Leaves: Alternate, usually 7-lobed and obovate in general outline, although variable. Leaves pale on undersides; 12 to 23 cm long and up to 12 cm wide.

Flowers/Fruit: Flowers are catkins. Acorns globose or slightly flattened with the nut almost completely covered by a ragged scaly cup, earning the name, "overcup." Flowers March/April; acorns mature September/October of the same year.

Habit and Range: Bottomlands, swamps, floodplains and ephemeral wetlands in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont.

Typical Max Plant Height (m):
30
Leaf Arrangement:
Alternate   
Leaf Division:
Simple   
Leaf Margin:
Entire, Lobed      
Leaf Shape:
Obovate   
Inflorescence Color:
Yellow, Green   
  
Fruit Color:
Brown   
Lifespan:
Perennial
Group:
Dicot
Family:
Fagaceae / Beech
Ecoregions Found In:
Piedmont, Coastal Plain