Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus pagoda

Quercus velutina

cherrybark oak, Texas oak

black oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 40 m. Bark nearly black with narrow and noticeably flaky ridges, often resembling that of wild black cherry, inner bark orange. Trees, deciduous, to 25 m. Bark dark brown to black, deeply furrowed, ridges often broken into irregular blocks, inner bark yellow or orange.
Twigs

yellowish brown, 2-3.5 mm diam., pubescent.

dark reddish brown, (1.5-)2.5-4.5(-5) mm diam., glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
Leaves

blade ovate to elliptic or obovate, 90-300 × 60-160 mm, base cuneate to rounded or truncate, margins with 5-11 lobes and 10-25 awns, lobes oblong, rarely falcate, terminal lobe rarely exceeding lateral lobes in length, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially pale, tomentose, adaxially glossy, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.

blade ovate to obovate, (80-)100-300 × 80-150 mm, base obtuse to truncate, inequilateral, margins with 5-9 lobes and 15-50 awns, lobes oblong or distally expanded, separated by deep sinuses, apex acute to obtuse;

surfaces abaxially pale green, glabrous except for small axillary tufts of tomentum or with scattered pubescence, especially along veins, adaxially glossy, dark green, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.
Acorns

biennial;

cup saucer-shaped to cup-shaped, 3-7 mm high × 10-18 mm wide, covering 1/3-1/2 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent, scale tips tightly appressed, acute;

nut subglobose, 9-15 × 8-16 mm, often striate, puberulent, scar diam. 5-9 mm.

biennial;

cup cup-shaped or turbinate, 7-14 mm high × 12-22 mm wide, covering 1/2 nut, cup margins not involute, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent, scale tips loose, especially at margin of cup, acute to acuminate;

nut subglobose to ovoid, 10-20 × 10-18 mm, glabrate, scar diam. 5.5-12 mm.
Terminal

buds light reddish brown, ovoid, 4-9 mm, strongly 5-angled in cross section, puberulent throughout.

buds ovoid or ellipsoid to subconic, 6-12 mm, noticeably 5-angled in cross section, tawny- or gray-pubescent.
n

= 12 ± 1; 2n = 24.

Quercus pagoda

Quercus velutina
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Poorly drained bottoms and mesic slopes Commonly on dry slopes and upland areas, occasionally on sandy lowlands (especially in north) and poorly drained uplands and terraces
Elevation 0-300 m (0-1000 ft) 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Quercus pagoda is often treated as a variety of Q. falcata; it is quite distinctive, however, both morphologically and ecologically (S. A. Ware 1967; R. J. Jensen 1989).

This species reportedly hybridizes with Q. falcata and Q. phellos (D. M. Hunt 1989).

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

The bark of this species (quercitron) is rich in tannins and was once an important source of these chemicals used for tanning leather. (The yellow dye obtained from the bark is also called quercitron.)

Native Americans used Quercus velutina medicinally for indigestion, chronic dysentery, mouth sores, chills and fevers, chapped skin, hoarseness, milky urine, lung trouble, sore eyes, and as a tonic, an antiseptic, and an emetic (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Quercus velutina reportedly hybridizes with Q. coccinea, Q. ellipsoidalis (= Q. ×paleolithicola Trelease), Q. falcata [= Q. ×willdenowiana (Dippel) Zabel] (= Q. ×pinetorum Moldenke)], Q. ilicifolia (= Q. ×rehderi Trelease), Q. imbricaria (= Q. ×leana Nuttall), Q. incana, Q. laevis, and Q. laurifolia (= Q. ×cocksii Sargent, although E. J. Palmer [1948] challenged the validity of this claim), Q. marilandica, Q. nigra, Q. palustris (= Q. ×vaga E. J. Palmer & Steyermark), Q. phellos (= Q. ×filialis Little), Q. rubra, Q. shumardii, and possibly Q. arkansana (D. M. Hunt 1989).

(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. 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. 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. shumardii, Q. similis, Q. sinuata, Q. stellata, Q. tardifolia, Q. texana, Q. tomentella, Q. toumeyi, Q. turbinella, Q. vacciniifolia, Q. vaseyana, Q. viminea, Q. virginiana, Q. wislizenii
Synonyms Q. falcata var. leucophylla, Q. falcata var. pagodifolia, Q. leucophylla, Q. pagodifolia Q. tinctoria
Name authority Rafinesque: Alsogr. Amer., 23. (1838) Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 1: 721. (1785)
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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