Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Quercus muehlenbergii

Quercus engelmannii

Chinkapin oak, chinquapin oak, yellow chestnut oak

Engelmann oak, Engelmann's oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, moderate to large, to 30 m, occasionally large shrubs (ca. 3 m) on drier sites. Trees, subevergreen, to 10 m. Bark gray or whitish, closely furrowed.
Bark

gray, thin, flaky to papery.

Twigs

brownish, 1.5-3(-4) mm diam., sparsely fine-pubescent, soon becoming glabrate, graying in 2d year.

light brown, 1-1.5 mm diam., densely or sparsely stellate-tomentose, soon glabrate.
Buds

brown to red-brown, subrotund to broadly ovoid, 20-40 × (10-)15-25 mm, apex rounded, very sparsely pubescent.

reddish brown, subspheric to broadly ovoid, 1-2 mm, glabrous or basal scales pubescent;

stipules persistent about terminal buds.
Leaves

blade usually obovate, sometimes lanceolate to oblanceolate, (32-)50-150(-210) × (10-)40-80(-106) mm, leathery, base truncate to cuneate, margins regularly undulate, toothed or shallow-lobed, teeth or lobes rounded, or acute-acuminate, often strongly antrorse, secondary veins usually (9-)10-14(-16) on each side, ± parallel, apex short-acute to acuminate or apiculate;

surfaces abaxially glaucous or light green, appearing glabrate but with scattered or crowded minute, appressed, symmetric, 6-10-rayed stellate hairs, adaxially lustrous dark green, glabrate.

blade oblong to elliptic, occasionally lanceolate or ovate, (20-)30-60(-80) × (5-)10-20(-25) mm, base cuneate to cordate, margins entire, undulate, sometimes irregularly toothed, especially toward apex, secondary veins 7-8(-10) on each side, branched, apex acute or broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially blue-green or pale green, densely and loosely glandular-tomentose, quickly glabrate or persistently floccose, especially about base of midrib, at maturity strongly glaucous, adaxially gray-green or pale green, bluish green or glaucous.
Acorns

1-2, subsessile or on axillary peduncle to 8 mm;

cup hemispheric or shallowly cupped, 4-12 mm deep × 8-22 mm wide, enclosing 1/4-1/2 nut, base rounded, margin usually thin, scales closely appressed, moderately to prominently tuberculate, uniformly short gray-pubescent;

nut light brown, oblong to ovoid, (13-)15-20(-28) × 10-13(-16) mm.

solitary or paired, subsessile or on peduncle to 5-6 mm;

cup cup-shaped or shallowly cup-shaped, 8-10 mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, enclosing 1/3 nut, scales 1.5-3 mm wide, strongly and regularly tuberculate near base of cup, gray-pubescent;

nut light brown, ovoid or oblong, 15-25 × 12-14 mm, glabrate or puberulent about apex.
Cotyledons

distinct.

connate.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Quercus muehlenbergii

Quercus engelmannii
Phenology Flowering late winter–spring. Flowering in spring.
Habitat Mixed deciduous forest, woodlands and thickets, sometimes restricted to n slopes and riparian habitats in w parts of range, limestone and calcareous soils, rarely on other substrates Oak woodlands, margins of chaparral, arroyos, slopes and bajadas
Elevation 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft) 50-1200 m (200-3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Hidalgo, and Tamaulipas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Shrubby forms of Quercus muhlenbergii are difficult to distinguish from Quercus prinoides, but Q. muhlenbergii does not spread clonally or produce acorns on small shrubs as does Q. prinoides. The edaphic preferences of these two species are distinctive, with Q. muhlenbergii never far from limestone substrates and Q. prinoides occurring mostly on dry shales and deep sands. Populations of Q. muhlenbergii from the southwest part of its range, on the Edwards Plateau of Texas and westward, sometimes are segregated as Q. brayi Small, but the variation appears to be clinal with inconsistent differences. Distributed from Hidalgo, Mexico to Maine, Q. muhlenbergii is one of the most widespread species of temperate North American trees.

The Delaware-Ontario prepared infusions from the bark of Quercus muhlenbergii to stop vomiting (D. E. Moerman 1986).

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

Quercus engelmannii is closely related to and possibly conspecific with Q. oblongifolia. The cups of Q. engelmannii are larger, deeper, and generally more tuberculate than those of Q. oblongifolia, and the scales are usually larger. Based on available samples, the nuts of Q. engelmannii are consistently larger than those of Q. oblongifolia, apparently with little, if any, overlap in diameter. Considerably more variation occurs within Q. engelmannii in leaf form, possibly reflecting introgression from other white oak species such as Q. cornelius-mulleri, Q. dumosa, and Q. durata (see treatment).

On Catalina Island, Quercus engelmannii is known only from a small grove of trees. Putative hybrids between Q. engelmannii and Q. cornelius-mulleri are common in areas of contact between the two species in Riverside and San Diego counties in southern California. Such a population was the basis for Q. acutidens Torrey [Q. dumosa var. acutidens (Torrey) Wenzig]. Other names applied to those populations are Q. macdonaldii var. elegantula Greene and Q. dumosa var. elegantula (Greene) Jepson. Variable in leaf form and stature, those intermediates form extensive populations and are probably best disposed of under the name Q. ×acutidens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Quercus 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Q. acuminata, Q. brayi, Q. prinus var. acuminata
Name authority Engelmann: Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 3: 391. (1887) Greene: Ill. W. Amer. Oaks 1: 33, plate 17. (1889)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers