Quercus nigra |
Quercus georgiana |
|
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chêne gris, water oak |
Georgia oak, stone mountain oak |
|
Habit | Trees, deciduous or tardily deciduous, to 30 m. Bark grayish black, fissures irregular, shallow, inner bark pinkish. | Trees, deciduous, to 15 m. Bark gray to light brown, scaly. |
Twigs | dark red-brown, 1.5-2.5 mm diam., glabrous. |
deep red, 1-2 mm diam., glabrous. |
Leaves | blade distinctly obtrullate, rarely elliptic or merely obovate, widest near apex, 30-120(-160) × 15-60(-70) mm, base attenuate or cuneate, rarely rounded, margins entire with 1 apical awn or with 2-3 shallow lobes and 2-5 awns (leaves on juvenile or 2d-flush growth may be deeply lobed with more awns), apex obtuse to blunt or rounded; surfaces abaxially glabrous except for minute or conspicuous axillary tufts of tomentum, veins rarely raised, adaxially glabrous with secondary veins somewhat impressed. |
blade broadly ovate to elliptic or obovate, 40-130 × 20-90 mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins with 3-5(-7) oblong lobes and up to 10 awns, apex acute; surfaces abaxially glabrous except for conspicuous axillary tufts of tomentum, veins raised, adaxially planar, glabrous. |
Acorns | biennial; cup saucer-shaped, 2.5-5.5 mm high × 10-18 mm wide, covering 1/4 nut or less, outer surface puberulent, inner surface sparsely to uniformly pubescent, scale tips tightly appressed, acute; nut broadly ovoid, 9.5-14 × 9.5-14.5 mm, often faintly striate, glabrate, scar diam. 6-11.5 mm. |
biennial; cup thin, saucer-shaped, 4-6 mm high × 9-14 mm wide, covering 1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface glabrous or with a few hairs around scar, scale tips appressed, acute; nut globose or ovoid, 9-14 × 9-14 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 4-7.5 mm. |
Terminal | buds reddish brown, ovoid, 3-6.5 mm, puberulent throughout, occasionally densely pubescent on apical 2/3. |
buds red-brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5-5 mm, glabrous or scales somewhat ciliate. |
Quercus nigra |
Quercus georgiana |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Mesic alluvial and lowland sites, also barrens, dunes, hammocks, and low ridges to steep slopes | Granitic outcrops and dry slopes and knolls |
Elevation | 0-450 m (0-1500 ft) | 50-500 m (200-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
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AL; GA; SC
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Discussion | Typically on mesic alluvial and lowland sites, Quercus nigra also occurs on a wide variety of soil types and in a diversity of habitats. Trees with 3-lobed leaves with attenuate bases have been recognized as Quercus nigra var. tridentifera Sargent. Quercus nigra reportedly hybridizes with Q. falcata (= Q. ×garlandensis E. J. Palmer), Q. incana, Q. laevis (= Q. ×walteriana Ashe), Q. marilandica (= Q. ×sterilis Trelease), Q. phellos (= Q. ×capesii W. Wolf), Q. shumardii (= Q. ×neopalmeri Sudworth), and Q. velutina (Q. ×demarei Ashe). In addition, D. M. Hunt (1989) cited evidence of hybridization also with Q. arkansana, Q. georgiana, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. laurifolia, Q. myrtifolia, Q. palustris, Q. rubra, and Q. texana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Quercus georgiana reportedly hybridizes with Q. marilandica (= Q. ×smallii Trelease) and Q. nigra, although D. M. Hunt (1989) has questioned the validity of the former report. (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 | ||
Synonyms | Q. nana, Q. nigra var. tridentifera, Q. uliginosa | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 995. (1753) | M. A. Curtis: Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 7: 406. (1849) |
Web links |