Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus coccinea

Quercus shumardii

scarlet oak

schneck oak, Shumard oak, Shumard red oak, Shumard's oak, swamp red oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m; lower trunk without stubs of dead branches. Trees, deciduous, to 35 m. Bark gray-brown to dark brown, shallowly fissured with scaly or light-colored flat ridges, 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.

gray to light brown, (1.5-)2-3.5(-4.5) 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 broadly elliptic to obovate, 100-200 × 60-150 mm, base obtuse to truncate, occasionally acute, margins with 5-9 lobes and 15-50 awns, lobes oblong or distally expanded, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially glabrous except for prominent axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially glossy, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.
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 cup-shaped, 7-12 mm high × 15-30 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/3 nut, outer surface glabrous or puberulent, inner surface light-brown to red-brown, glabrous or with ring of pubescence around scar, scales often with pale margins, tips tightly appressed, obtuse or acute;

nut ovoid to oblong, occasionally subglobose, 14-30 × 10-20 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 6.5-12 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 gray to grayish brown, ovoid or broadly ellipsoid, 4-8 mm, often noticeably 5-angled in cross section, glabrous.
2n

= 24.

Quercus coccinea

Quercus shumardii
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Poor soils, well-drained uplands, dry slopes, and ridges, occasionally on poorly drained sites Mesic slopes and bottoms, stream banks and poorly drained uplands
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 0-500 m (0-1600 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; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; 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.)

Trees with shallow cups covering ca. one-fourth of the nut are treated as Quercus shumardii var. shumardii; those with more deeply rounded cups covering ca. one-third of the nut are treated as Q. shumardii var. schneckii (Britton) Sargent. Quercus shumardii var. stenocarpa Laughlin was described from several trees in Missouri and Illinois having ellipsoid acorns that were covered less than one-third their length by very small (5.5-7 mm high × 12.5-18 mm wide), shallow cups (K. Laughlin 1969).

Quercus shumardii reportedly hybridizes with Q. buckleyi, Q. falcata (= Q. ×joori Trelease), Q. hemisphaerica, Q. imbricaria (= Q. ×egglestoni Trelease), Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. marilandica, Q. nigra, Q. palustris (= Q. ×mutabilis E. J. Palmer & Steyermark), Q. phellos (= Q. ×moultonensis Ashe), Q. rubra, and Q. velutina (= Q. × discreta Laughlin).

(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. palustris, Q. phellos, Q. polymorpha, Q. prinoides, Q. pumila, Q. pungens, Q. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, 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. schneckii
Name authority Münchhausen: Hausvater 5(1): 254. (1770) Buckley: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12: 444. (1860)
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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