Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus coccinea

Quercus hemisphaerica

scarlet oak

Darlington oak, Darlington's oak, laurel oak, sand laurel oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m; lower trunk without stubs of dead branches. Trees, evergreen or tardily deciduous, to 35 m. Bark much like that of Q. laurifolia.
Bark

dark gray to dark brown, irregularly fissured with scaly ridges, inner bark orangish pink.

Twigs

reddish brown, (1-)2-3.5 mm diam., glabrous.

light brown to dark red-brown, 1-2.5 mm diam., glabrous.
Leaves

blade elliptic to ovate or obovate, 70-160 × 80-130 mm, base obtuse to truncate, margins with 5-9 deep lobes and 18-50 awns, lobes distally expanded, sinuses usually extending more than 1/2 distance to midrib, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially glabrous except for minute axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially glossy light green, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.

blade narrowly ovate or elliptic to oblanceolate, 30-120 × 10-40 mm, leathery, base obtuse to rounded, rarely attenuate, margins entire or with a few shallow lobes or teeth near apex, awns 1-4 (rarely as many as 8-10 on 2d-flush growth), apex acute or acuminate, occasionally obtuse;

surfaces abaxially glabrous, rarely with minute axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially glabrous.
Acorns

biennial;

cup turbinate to hemispheric, 7-13 mm high × 16.5-31.5 mm wide, covering 1/3-1/2 nut, outer surface light to dark reddish brown, glossy, glabrous to puberulent, inner surface light brown, glabrous, occasionally with ring of pubescence around scar, scales often tuberculate, base broad, glossy, margins strongly concave with tips tightly appressed, acute to attenuate;

nut oblong to subglobose, 12-22 × 10-21 mm, glabrous, with 1 or more rings of fine pits at apex, scar diam. 6.5-13.5 mm.

biennial;

cup saucer-shaped to bowl-shaped, rarely turbinate, 3-10 mm high × 11-18 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent at least 1/2 distance to rim, scales occasionally distinctly tuberculate, tips appressed, acute to obtuse;

nut broadly ovoid to hemispheric, 9-16 × 9-16 mm, glabrate, scar diam. 6-9.5 mm.
Terminal

buds dark reddish brown, conic to ovoid, 4-7 mm, noticeably 5-angled in cross section, usually silvery- or tawny-pubescent distal to middle.

buds reddish to purplish brown, ovoid, 2.5-5 mm, glabrous or with ciliate scale margins.
2n

= 24.

Quercus coccinea

Quercus hemisphaerica
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Poor soils, well-drained uplands, dry slopes, and ridges, occasionally on poorly drained sites Moderately dry sandy soils, scrub sandhills, stream banks, occasionally on hillsides and ravines
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 0-150 m (0-500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trees having acorns with broad, distinctly warty cups are sometimes classified as Quercus coccinea var. tuberculata Sargent.

Quercus coccinea reportedly hybridizes with Q. imbricaria, Q. ilicifolia (= Q. ×robbinsii Trelease), Q. laevis, and Q. palustris (E. J. Palmer 1948) and with Q. phellos, Q. rubra, and Q. velutina (= Q. ×fontana Laughlin).

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

Quercus hemisphaerica flowers about two weeks later than sympatric Q. laurifolia (W. H. Duncan and M. B. Duncan 1988).

Most authors have treated Quercus hemisphaerica as synonymous with Q. laurifolia. M. L. Fernald (1946) carefully examined the situation and concluded that Q. hemisphaerica is a distinct entity, but C. H. Muller (1951) argued that these two taxa "...are now certainly not separable even as varieties of the same species." Later (1970), Muller recanted by recognizing Q. hemisphaerica as a common component of stream terraces along the Gulf Coast.

Quercus hemisphaerica reportedly hybridizes with Q. falcata (C. H. Muller 1970); with Q. arkansana, Q. inopina, Q. marilandica, Q. myrtifolia, Q. nigra, Q. phellos, Q. pumila, and Q. shumardii (D. M. Hunt 1989); and with Q. incana (producing Q. ×sublaurifolia Trelease), and Q. laevis (producing Q. ×mellichampi Trelease).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Lobatae Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Lobatae
Sibling taxa
Q. acerifolia, Q. agrifolia, Q. ajoensis, Q. alba, Q. arizonica, Q. arkansana, Q. austrina, Q. berberidifolia, Q. bicolor, Q. boyntonii, Q. buckleyi, Q. carmenensis, Q. chapmanii, Q. chihuahuensis, Q. chrysolepis, 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. alba, 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. 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. coccinea var. tuberculata
Name authority Münchhausen: Hausvater 5(1): 254. (1770) W. Bartram ex Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 4(1): 443. (1805)
Web links 
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).



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