FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Leaves with sharply angled spaces between lobes and v-shaped bases. Leaf undersides densely white pubescent.
Synonym(s): Quercus pagodifolia
Description: Large straight deciduous tree, to 40 m.
Leaves: Alternate, obovate to ovate in general outline, 10 to 20 cm long and 8 to 14 cm wide, typically with 5 lobes, sometimes more. End lobe usually toothed and spaces between lobes generally v-shaped (not rounded). Backs of leaves whitish and densely pubescent.
Flowers/Fruit: Flowers are catkins. Flowers appear in spring, when leaves first emerge. Small, rounded acorns short-stalked and 1 cm long in cup-like saucers. Flowers April/May; acorns mature September to November of following year.
Habit and Range: Low grounds including brownwater floodplains and bottomland woods, occasionally on slopes and bluffs. Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Quercus falcata (Southern red oak), which is not a wetland species, has more rounded (bell-shaped) leaf base and less pale, more tan-colored pubescence on leaves.
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