Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus robur

Quercus oglethorpensis

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

Oglethorpe oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 30 m. Bark light gray, scaly. Trees, deciduous, to 18(-25) m. Bark light gray or whitish, scaly.
Twigs

brown, 2-3 mm diam., glabrous.

brownish red, ca. 1 mm diam., sparsely pubescent, glabrate with age.
Buds

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

reddish brown, globose, to 2-2.5 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous.
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 narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, ± planar, not strongly convexly cupped, 50-150 × 20-45 mm, base cuneate to cordate, margins entire or on vigorous shoots sometimes sinuate near apex, secondary veins 3-5 on each side, apex rounded, obtuse or broadly acute;

surfaces abaxially yellowish green, covered with persistent velvety branched hairs, adaxially dark green, dull or glossy, sparsely stellate, often somewhat sandpapery with harsh hairs.
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.

1-2, subsessile or on peduncle to 7 mm;

cup turbinate, somewhat constricted proximally, 8 mm deep × 10 mm wide, enclosing 1/3 nut or more, scales closely appressed, finely tan-pubescent;

nut gray brown, ovoid, 9-11 × (5-)7-9 mm, finely puberulent.
Cotyledons

distinct.

distinct.
2n

= 24.

Quercus robur

Quercus oglethorpensis
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Roadsides, pastures, forest margins and woodlands Alluvial flatwoods and streamsides in rich woods, low pastures, and edge of bottomland forests
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
BC; NB; NS; PE [Introduced from Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
GA; LA; MS; SC
[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.)

Of conservation concern.

Since its original discovery in 1940 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, Quercus oglethorpensis has been found to be more common locally near the type site in Georgia and South Carolina than originally thought. It remains one of the least-known oak species of the southeastern United States. Quercus oglethorpensis is one of our most distinctive eastern oaks, easily recognized by its narrow, entire, abaxially felty leaves.

(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. 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. 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
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753) Duncan: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 24: 755. (1940)
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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