Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus coccinea

Quercus palustris

scarlet oak

pin oak, quercus palustris
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m; lower trunk without stubs of dead branches. Trees, deciduous, to 25 m. Bark grayish brown, fissures broad, shallow, inner bark pinkish.
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.

reddish brown, 1.5-3(-4) mm diam., soon becoming 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 elliptic to oblong, 50-160 × 50-120 mm, base cuneate to broadly obtuse or truncate with basal pair of lobes often somewhat recurved, margins with 5-7 lobes and 10-30 awns, lobes acute or attenuate or distally expanded, apex acute to acuminate;

surfaces abaxially glabrous except for conspicuous axillary tufts of tomentum, veins raised, adaxially planar, 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 thin, saucer-shaped, 3-6 mm high × 9.5-16 mm wide, covering 1/4 nut, outer surface glabrous or puberulent, inner surface glabrous or with a few hairs around scar, scale tips tightly appressed, acute to obtuse;

nut globose or ovoid, 10-16 × 9-15 mm, often conspicuously striate, glabrous, scar diam. 5.5-9 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 brown to reddish brown, ovoid, 3-5 mm, glabrous or with a few fine hairs at apex.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Quercus coccinea

Quercus palustris
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Poor soils, well-drained uplands, dry slopes, and ridges, occasionally on poorly drained sites Bottoms and poorly drained upland clay soils
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 0-350 m (0-1100 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
AR; CT; DC; DE; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; TN; VA; WI; WV; ON
[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 palustris is especially common in landscape and street plantings. Its persistent dead branchlets (pins) and branching pattern (drooping lower branches, horizontal middle branches, ascending upper branches) are quite distinctive.

This species reportedly hybridizes with Quercus coccinea (E. J. Palmer 1948) and with Q. imbricaria (= Q. ×exacta Trelease), Q. marilandica, Q. nigra, Q. phellos (= Q. ×schochiana Dieck), Q. rubra, Q. shumardii, and Q. velutina.

Some Native American tribes used infusions prepared from the bark of Quercus palustris to alleviate intestinal pains (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. 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. 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. 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) Münchhausen: Hausvater 5(1): 253. (1770)
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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