FNA: Quercus austrina vs. Quercus alba

	Quercus austrina	Quercus alba
	bastard white oak, bluff oak	chêne blanc, eastern white oak, white oak
Habit	Trees, deciduous, to 20(-25) m. Bark pale gray, scaly, eventually divided into broad ridges.	Trees, deciduous, to 25 m. Bark light gray, scaly.
Twigs	dark brown to somewhat reddish, 2-2.5 mm diam., often with prominent, corky, white lenticels.	green or reddish, becoming gray, 2-3(-4) mm diam., initially pubescent, soon glabrous.
Buds	dark reddish brown, ovoid, distally acute, 3-5 × 2-2.5 mm, puberulent.	dark reddish brown, ovoid, ca. 3 mm, apex obtuse, glabrous.
Leaves	blade green or grayish green, narrowly obovate or elliptic, (40-)70-100(-200) × (13-)30-50(-115) mm, base cuneate or attenuate, margins sinuately and irregularly shallowly lobed, lobes rounded, sometimes obtuse, secondary veins 4-6(-8) on each side, apex narrowly or broadly rounded; surfaces abaxially loosely covered with semi-erect stellate hairs to 0.5 mm diam., glabrous at maturity, often with a few hairs remaining along veins near midrib, adaxially glabrous, glossy.	blade obovate to narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate, (79-)120-180(-230) × (40-)70-110(-165) mm, base narrowly cuneate to acute, margins moderately to deeply lobed, lobes often narrow, rounded distally, sinuses extending 1/3-7/8 distance to midrib, secondary veins arched, divergent, (3-)5-7 on each side, apex broadly rounded or ovate; surfaces abaxially light green, with numerous whitish or reddish erect hairs, these quickly shed as leaf expands, adaxially light gray-green, dull or glossy.
Acorns	subsessile or on stout axillary peduncle to 15 mm; cup hemispheric or deeply goblet- or cup-shaped, 9-10 mm deep × 10-13 mm wide, enclosing 1/3-1/2 nut, scales loosely appressed, gray, narrowly ovate, sometimes thickened near base, not tuberculate, canescent; nut ovoid or elliptic, 17 × 12 mm.	1-3, subsessile or on peduncle to 25(-50) mm; cup hemispheric, enclosing 1/4 nut, scales closely appressed, finely grayish tomentose; nut light brown, ovoid-ellipsoid or oblong, (12-)15-21(-25) × 9-18 mm, glabrous.
Cotyledons	distinct.	distinct.
2n		= 24.

	Quercus austrina	Quercus alba
Phenology	Flowering spring.	Flowering in spring.
Habitat	River bottoms, wet forests, flatwoods	Moist to fairly dry, deciduous forests usually on deeper, well-drained loams, also on thin soils on dry upland slopes, sometimes on barrens
Elevation	0-200 m (0-700 ft)	0-1600 m (0-5200 ft)
Distribution	AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Quercus austrina is probably the most misunderstood oak of the southeastern United States. Although the species is fairly widespread, it is apparently abundant only in local areas and is poorly represented in herbaria. This may be partly because Q. austrina is often misidentified as Q. sinuata, which it superficially resembles, or as Q. nigra, a red oak with similarly shaped leaves. It is easily distinguished from Q. sinuata by its larger, more acute buds; darker twigs; deeper, turbinate acorn cups; and absence of minute, appressed, stellate hairs on the abaxial leaf surface. Instead, Q. austrina has a tomentum of soft erect hairs on young leaves, and glabrate mature leaves. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)	Considerable variation in depth of lobing occurs in the leaves of Quercus alba (M. J. Baranski 1975; J. W. Hardin 1975); the species is easily distinguished from others, however, by the light gray-green, glabrous mature leaves and cuneate leaf bases. In the past Quercus alba was considered to be the source of the finest and most durable oak lumber in America for furniture and shipbuilding. Now it has been replaced almost entirely in commerce by various species of eastern red oak (e.g., Q. rubra, Q. velutina, and Q. falcata) that are more common and have faster growth and greater yields. These red oaks also lack tyloses and therefore are more suited to pressure treating with preservatives, even though they are less decay-resistant without treatment. Medicinally, Quercus alba was used by Native Americans to treat diarrhea, indigestion, chronic dysentery, mouth sores, chapped skin, asthma, milky urine, rheumatism, coughs, sore throat, consumption, bleeding piles, and muscle aches, as an antiseptic, and emetic, and a wash for chills and fevers, to bring up phlegm, as a witchcraft medicine, and as a psychological aid (D. E. Moerman 1986). Numerous hybrids between Quercus alba and other species of white oak have been reported, and some have been named. J. W. Hardin (1975) reviewed the hybrids of Quercus alba. Nothospecies names based on putative hybrids involving Q. alba include: Q. ×beadlei Trelease (= Q. alba × prinus), Q. ×bebbiana Schneider (= Q. alba × macrocarpa), Q. ×bimundorum E. J. Palmer (= Q. alba × robur), Q. ×deami Trelease (= Q. alba × muhlenbergii), Q. ×faxoni Trelease (= Q. alba × prinoides), Q. ×jackiana Schneider (= Q. alba × bicolor), and Q. ×saulei Schneider (= Q. alba × montana). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 3.	FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa	Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus	Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus
Sibling taxa	Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. alba, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. engelmannii, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. garryana, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii	Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. austrina, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. engelmannii, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. garryana, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii
Synonyms	Q. durandii var. austrina
Name authority	Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 353. (1903)	Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753)
Web links	WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local Web sites: Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Quercus alba

bastard white oak, bluff oak

chêne blanc, eastern white oak, white oak

Habit

Trees, deciduous, to 20(-25) m. Bark pale gray, scaly, eventually divided into broad ridges.

Trees, deciduous, to 25 m. Bark light gray, scaly.

Twigs

dark brown to somewhat reddish, 2-2.5 mm diam., often with prominent, corky, white lenticels.

green or reddish, becoming gray, 2-3(-4) mm diam., initially pubescent, soon glabrous.

Buds

dark reddish brown, ovoid, distally acute, 3-5 × 2-2.5 mm, puberulent.

dark reddish brown, ovoid, ca. 3 mm, apex obtuse, glabrous.

Leaves

blade green or grayish green, narrowly obovate or elliptic, (40-)70-100(-200) × (13-)30-50(-115) mm, base cuneate or attenuate, margins sinuately and irregularly shallowly lobed, lobes rounded, sometimes obtuse, secondary veins 4-6(-8) on each side, apex narrowly or broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially loosely covered with semi-erect stellate hairs to 0.5 mm diam., glabrous at maturity, often with a few hairs remaining along veins near midrib, adaxially glabrous, glossy.

blade obovate to narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate, (79-)120-180(-230) × (40-)70-110(-165) mm, base narrowly cuneate to acute, margins moderately to deeply lobed, lobes often narrow, rounded distally, sinuses extending 1/3-7/8 distance to midrib, secondary veins arched, divergent, (3-)5-7 on each side, apex broadly rounded or ovate;

surfaces abaxially light green, with numerous whitish or reddish erect hairs, these quickly shed as leaf expands, adaxially light gray-green, dull or glossy.

Acorns

subsessile or on stout axillary peduncle to 15 mm;

cup hemispheric or deeply goblet- or cup-shaped, 9-10 mm deep × 10-13 mm wide, enclosing 1/3-1/2 nut, scales loosely appressed, gray, narrowly ovate, sometimes thickened near base, not tuberculate, canescent;

nut ovoid or elliptic, 17 × 12 mm.

1-3, subsessile or on peduncle to 25(-50) mm;

cup hemispheric, enclosing 1/4 nut, scales closely appressed, finely grayish tomentose;

nut light brown, ovoid-ellipsoid or oblong, (12-)15-21(-25) × 9-18 mm, glabrous.

Cotyledons

distinct.

= 24.

Quercus austrina

Quercus alba

Phenology

Flowering spring.

Flowering in spring.

Habitat

River bottoms, wet forests, flatwoods

Moist to fairly dry, deciduous forests usually on deeper, well-drained loams, also on thin soils on dry upland slopes, sometimes on barrens

Elevation

0-200 m (0-700 ft)

0-1600 m (0-5200 ft)

Distribution

AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Quercus austrina is probably the most misunderstood oak of the southeastern United States. Although the species is fairly widespread, it is apparently abundant only in local areas and is poorly represented in herbaria. This may be partly because Q. austrina is often misidentified as Q. sinuata, which it superficially resembles, or as Q. nigra, a red oak with similarly shaped leaves. It is easily distinguished from Q. sinuata by its larger, more acute buds; darker twigs; deeper, turbinate acorn cups; and absence of minute, appressed, stellate hairs on the abaxial leaf surface. Instead, Q. austrina has a tomentum of soft erect hairs on young leaves, and glabrate mature leaves.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Considerable variation in depth of lobing occurs in the leaves of Quercus alba (M. J. Baranski 1975; J. W. Hardin 1975); the species is easily distinguished from others, however, by the light gray-green, glabrous mature leaves and cuneate leaf bases.

In the past Quercus alba was considered to be the source of the finest and most durable oak lumber in America for furniture and shipbuilding. Now it has been replaced almost entirely in commerce by various species of eastern red oak (e.g., Q. rubra, Q. velutina, and Q. falcata) that are more common and have faster growth and greater yields. These red oaks also lack tyloses and therefore are more suited to pressure treating with preservatives, even though they are less decay-resistant without treatment.

Medicinally, Quercus alba was used by Native Americans to treat diarrhea, indigestion, chronic dysentery, mouth sores, chapped skin, asthma, milky urine, rheumatism, coughs, sore throat, consumption, bleeding piles, and muscle aches, as an antiseptic, and emetic, and a wash for chills and fevers, to bring up phlegm, as a witchcraft medicine, and as a psychological aid (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Numerous hybrids between Quercus alba and other species of white oak have been reported, and some have been named. J. W. Hardin (1975) reviewed the hybrids of Quercus alba. Nothospecies names based on putative hybrids involving Q. alba include: Q. ×beadlei Trelease (= Q. alba × prinus), Q. ×bebbiana Schneider (= Q. alba × macrocarpa), Q. ×bimundorum E. J. Palmer (= Q. alba × robur), Q. ×deami Trelease (= Q. alba × muhlenbergii), Q. ×faxoni Trelease (= Q. alba × prinoides), Q. ×jackiana Schneider (= Q. alba × bicolor), and Q. ×saulei Schneider (= Q. alba × montana).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus

Sibling taxa

Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. alba, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. engelmannii, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. garryana, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii

Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. austrina, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, Q. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. emoryi, Q. engelmannii, Q. falcata, Q. fusiformis, Q. gambelii, Q. garryana, Q. geminata, Q. georgiana, Q. graciliformis, Q. gravesii, Q. grisea, Q. havardii, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. hinckleyi, Q. hypoleucoides, Q. ilicifolia, Q. imbricaria, Q. incana, Q. inopina, Q. intricata, Q. john-tuckeri, Q. kelloggii, Q. laceyi, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. lobata, Q. lyrata, Q. macrocarpa, Q. margarettae, Q. marilandica, Q. michauxii, Q. minima, Q. mohriana, Q. montana, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. oblongifolia, Q. oglethorpensis, Q. pacifica, Q. pagoda, Q. palmeri, Q. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, Q. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii

Synonyms

Q. durandii var. austrina

Name authority

Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 353. (1903)

Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753)

Web links

Local Web sites: Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MN Wildflowers, MO Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database
LBJ Wildflower Center
SEINet
Plants of the World Online
Encyclopedia of Life
Wikipedia
Google Image Search

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

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Flora of North America species comparison

Quercus austrina

Quercus alba

Quercus austrina

Quercus alba