Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus coccinea

Quercus lobata

scarlet oak

California white oak, roble, valley oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m; lower trunk without stubs of dead branches. Trees, deciduous, to 25(-35) m, usually with solitary trunks.
Bark

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

gray, scaly, deeply checkered in age.
Twigs

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

yellowish, gray, occasionally reddish, 2-4 mm diam., densely or sparsely tomentulose.
Buds

yellowish or light brown, ovoid, (2-)3-5(-6) mm, apex occasionally acute, densely pubescent.
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 broadly obovate or elliptic, moderately to deeply lobed, (40-)50-100(-120) × 30-60(-75) mm, base rounded-attenuate, cuneate, or truncate, rarely subcordate, margins with sinuses usually reaching more than 1/2 distance to midrib, lobes oblong or spatulate, obtuse, rounded, or blunt, secondary veins 5-10 on each side, apex broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially whitish or light green, densely to sparsely covered with interlocking appressed or semi-erect, 8-10(-14)-rayed stellate hairs, adaxially dark green or grayish, glossy or somewhat scurfy because of sparse stellate hairs.
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.

solitary or paired, subsessile;

cup deeply cup-shaped, hemispheric or turbinate, rim thick, 10-30 mm deep × 14-30 mm wide, scales grayish or cream, more acute near rim, strongly and irregularly tuberculate, especially toward base of cup;

nut light brown, oblong or fusiform, 30-60 × (12-)15-25 mm, tapering to acute or rounded apex.
Cotyledons

distinct.
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.

2n

= 24.

Quercus coccinea

Quercus lobata
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering late winter–early spring.
Habitat Poor soils, well-drained uplands, dry slopes, and ridges, occasionally on poorly drained sites Valley floors and moderate slopes, open grasslands, savannah and oak woodlands, riparian areas in chaparral
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 0-1700 m (0-5600 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
CA
[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.)

Mature trees of Quercus lobata are among the largest oaks of the United States. The species hybridizes with numerous other species, but the hybrids are not common in most parts of its range. On Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina islands, however, occur extensive and relatively stable populations that show intermediate characteristics with Q. pacifica (see treatment). The hybrids have been given the name Q. ×macdonaldii, and they differ from Q. lobata in the following: leaf sinuses reaching less than half the distance to the midrib; leaves usually smaller, the lobes often more acute and brighter green; and acorns smaller, with more acute apices.

The Yuri used Quercus lobata in the treatment of diarrhea (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(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. Quercus
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. 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. 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 Q. hindsii, Q. lobata var. hindsii, Q. longiglanda
Name authority Münchhausen: Hausvater 5(1): 254. (1770) Nee.: Anales Ci. Nat. 3: 277. (1801)
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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