Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus robur

Quercus grisea

British oak, chêne pédoncule, English oak, French oak, pedunculate oak

gray oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m. Bark light gray, scaly.
Twigs

brown, 2-3 mm diam., glabrous.

gray, 1-2 mm diam., sparsely or densely stellate-tomentulose or tomentose when young.
Buds

dark brown, ovoid, distally obtuse, 2-3 mm, glabrous.

dark red-brown, ovoid to subglobose, 1-2 mm, stellate hairs causing yellowish color, at least on outer scales;

stipules persistent, 1-4, subulate, pubescent, at base of terminal buds.
Leaves

blade obovate to narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate (some cultivars oblanceolate), (50-)70-150(-200) × (20-)35-85(-100) mm, base strongly cordate, often minutely revolute or folded, margins moderately to deeply lobed, lobes rounded or retuse distally, sinuses extending 1/3-7/8 distance to midrib, secondary veins arched, divergent, (3-)5-7 on each side, apex broadly rounded;

surfaces abaxially light green, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, glabrous at maturity, adaxially deep green to light green or gray, dull or glossy.

blade oblong to elliptic or ovate, (15-)25-35(-80) × (7-)15-30(-40) mm, thick and leathery, base cordate or rounded, margins minutely revolute, entire or dentate with mucronate teeth, secondary veins 6-10 on each side, branched, apex acute, sometimes obtuse, rarely rounded;

surfaces abaxially dull gray-green or yellowish, minutely stellate-pubescent with interlocking hairs, secondary veins very prominent, adaxially dull green, very sparsely and minutely stellate-pubescent, secondary veins slightly raised.
Acorns

1-3, on very thin (1-2 mm diam.), flexuous peduncle (25-)35-65(-100) mm;

cup hemispheric to deeply goblet-shaped, enclosing 1/4-1/2 nut or more, scales closely appressed, often in concentric rows, finely grayish tomentose;

nut brown, ovoid, oblong, or cylindric, 15-30(-35) × 12-20 mm, glabrous.

solitary or paired, subsessile or on peduncle 0-30 mm;

cup from deeply goblet- to deeply cup-shaped, 4-10 mm deep × 8-15 mm wide, enclosing to 1/2 nut, scales broadly ovate to oblong, proximal scales slightly or markedly tuberculate and whitish canescent, tips closely appressed, red-brown, thin, glabrate;

nut light brown, ovoid to narrowly ovoid or ellipsoid, 12-18 × 8-12 mm.
Cotyledons

distinct.

connate.
Large

shrubs or moderate trees, deciduous or subevergreen, to 10 m. Bark gray, fissured.
2n

= 24.

Quercus robur

Quercus grisea
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Roadsides, pastures, forest margins and woodlands Igneous or dolomitic slopes, oak woodlands, juniper woodlands, desert chaparral
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) usually above 1500 m (usually above 4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
BC; NB; NS; PE [Introduced from Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Quercus robur is one of the oaks most commonly cultivated in temperate and subtropical parts of the world. In North America it is most commonly seen in the eastern and northwestern parts of the United States and and in southeastern and southwestern Canada, where it tolerates a wide array of conditions and is extremely hardy. In Washington, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, apparently reproducing populations persist in the wild. Elsewhere, although actual naturalization appears to be rare, Q. robur should be expected to persist around old homesites and other places of cultivation.

Quercus robur most closely resembles our native species Q. alba in leaf form. In contrast with Q. alba, which has relatively long petioles (longer than 10 mm), acute leaf bases, and subsessile fruit (rarely on peduncles to 25 mm), Q. robur is easily distinguished by its shorter petioles (less than 10 mm), cordate, almost clasping, leaf bases, and fruit on long (more than 35 mm), thin peduncles.

Quercus robur is one of the oaks most widely celebrated in literature; it has wood of exceptionally high quality for the manufacture of furniture, and it previously was the most important wood used in the manufacture of wooden sailing vessels in Europe.

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

Some of the specimens referred to Quercus endemica by C. H. Muller should be placed in Q. grisea.

Numerous hybrids between Quercus grisea and other white oaks, including Q. gambelii, Q. mohriana, Q. arizonica, and numerous species in northern Mexico, have been reported. In the Hueco and Quitman mountains of trans-Pecos Texas, putative hybrids of Q. grisea × Q. turbinella Greene occur.

(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. 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. 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. 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. pedunculata Q. undulata var. grisea
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753) Liebmann: Overs. Kongel. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Forh. Medlemmers Arbeider 1854: 171. (1854)
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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