In 1917 she planted 13 acorns collected in Providence Rhode Island.

17, 1913 when Eloise Butler planted some acorns she had obtained from the Arnold Arboretum. Notes: (1) Ascent of the Oaks, Hipp, Manos, Cavender-Bares, SA, Aug 2020.īlack Oak first arrived in the Wildflower Garden on Oct. It has a leaf base that tapers down more narrowly to the stalk and the margins of the acorn cup are noticeably rolled inward. In the southern United States however, the Turkey Oak, Quercus laevis is found. The only oaks in our northern region with similar characteristics are the Northern Red Oak, Pin Oak and Scarlet Oak. Twig buds of Black Oak are also larger and more fuzzy. However, the acorn does not have scales on the cup that are as loose as those of Black Oak nor do they have as much fine hair. missouriensis to name two.Ĭomparisons: The Northern Pin Oak, Quercus ellipsoidalis, is a similar Oak in appearance with sharp pointed lobes on the leaves but the lobe cuts are broader. There are older synonyms for the botanical name which are now obsolete: Q. He is best known for his theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. The species velutina, means 'velvety.' The author name for the plant classification of 1785 - ‘Lam.’ is for Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) French naturalist and biologist, an early proponent of evolution who among other things, published the 3 volume Flore francaise. Names: The genus name, Quercus, is the Latin word for Oak. Oaks should be pruned during the winter months, from October to March, to avoid open wounds where the Oak Wilt fungus can enter. Black Oak will hybridize with Pin Oak, Northern Pin Oak and Northern Red Oak. Its preferred sites are dry upland slopes or sandy lowlands. Habitat: Black Oak grows from a deep taproot and spreading lateral roots. Lobatae, which contains the Red Oak Group. Acorns are biennial remaining undeveloped the first year and maturing in the second summer as do most species in Quercus Sect. The outer surface of the cup can have very fine hair. The margin of the cup (where the acorn is exposed) are tapered but not rolled inward. The cup covers 1/3 to 1/2 the acorn and has a fringed border of loose (particularly on the cap edges) rust-brown scales. Both develop as the leaves open.įruit: Female flowers mature to an ovoid acorn, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, that has a cup that varies from cup shaped to turbanate (narrowed at the base). There are no petals both sexes have the sepals are fused together. They have 3 (to 6) carpels and styles that are slender and short. The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth. Each male flower usually has six stamens (can very from 2 to 12), which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens. Male flowers occur in yellow-green 2 to 4 inch hanging catkins from the leaf axils of last year's growth. Like all Oaks with lobed leaves, the leaves are quite variable in shape and size.įlowers: The tree is monoecious, that is with separate male and female flowers. The secondary veins appear raised on both surfaces. The upper surface is shiny dark green and the underside a pale green with some brown hairs along the main veins. The leaf base can be obtuse to truncate in shape but does not taper down onto the leaf stalk the base is usually a bit unequal from side to side. Lobes end with a few bristle-tipped teeth (awns) of which there can be 15 to 50.

The leaves are elliptical, long stalked, usually with 5 to 9 (5 usually) lobes that are either shallow or deep and narrow. Terminal buds have 5 angles in cross-section. The buds are large, buff in color, with fuzzy hair, and jut out at angles from the twig. Twigs are stout and grayish green to reddish-brown in color, with many small lenticels, usually smooth but new twigs may have surface hair. The inner bark is yellow to orange and very bitter.

The bark is gray and smooth on young trunks, becoming blackish, thick and rough and deeply furrowed into ridges that have horizontal breaks. The largest known (2019) Black Oak in the United States is found in Hartford CT, measuring 78 feet high, 89 foot crown spread and 347 inches in circumference scoring 447 points.

Lobatae - which contains all species of the Red Oak Group. The Oaks of the genus Quercus account for more tree biomass than any other species in North America and Mexico (1).īlack Oak is a native deciduous tree growing 50 to 80 feet tall with an irregular open spreading crown.

Black oak leaf and acorn drawing