Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus ellipsoidalis

Quercus hemisphaerica

Hill's oak, Jack oak, northern pin oak

Darlington oak, Darlington's oak, laurel oak, sand laurel oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 20 m; lower trunk often with stubs of dead branches. Trees, evergreen or tardily deciduous, to 35 m. Bark much like that of Q. laurifolia.
Bark

dark gray-brown, shallowly fissured, inner bark orangish.

Twigs

dark reddish brown, (1-)1.5-3 mm diam., glabrous.

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

blade elliptic, 70-130 × 50-100 mm, base obtuse to truncate, margins with 5-7 deep lobes and 15-55 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 narrowly turbinate to deeply cup-shaped, 6-11 mm high × 10-19 mm wide, covering 1/3-1/2 nut, outer surface reddish brown, puberulent, inner surface light brown, glabrous, rarely with ring of pubescence around scar, scales with straight or slightly concave margins, tips tightly appressed, obtuse or acute;

nut ellipsoid to ovoid, rarely subglobose, 10-20 × 9-15 mm, occasionally striate, glabrous, occasionally with 1 or more faint rings of fine pits at apex, scar diam. 4-8 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, ovoid, 3-5 mm, often conspicuously 5-angled in cross section, usually silvery- or tawny-pubescent toward apex.

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

Quercus ellipsoidalis

Quercus hemisphaerica
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry sandy sites, rarely on moderately mesic slopes or uplands Moderately dry sandy soils, scrub sandhills, stream banks, occasionally on hillsides and ravines
Elevation 150-500 m (500-1600 ft) 0-150 m (0-500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
IA; IL; IN; MI; MN; OH; WI; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In many treatments (e.g., E. G. Voss 1972+, vol. 2), Quercus ellipsoidalis is included in Q. coccinea. Variation in fruit morphology has led to recognition of several formae (W. Trelease 1919; see also R. J. Jensen 1986) and one variety (Q. ellipsoidalis var. kaposianensis, based on specimens from St. Paul, Minnesota, in which the cup tightly encloses the nut for two-thirds its length at maturity).

Quercus ellipsoidalis reportedly hybridizes with Q. rubra and Q. velutina.

The Menominee used Quercus ellipsoidalis medicinally to treat suppressed menses caused by cold (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(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. coccinea, Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. depressipes, Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. durata, 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. ellipsoidalis var. kaposianensis
Name authority E. J. Hill: Bot. Gaz. 27: 204, plates 2, 3. (1899) 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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