Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus shumardii

Quercus virginiana

schneck oak, Shumard oak, Shumard red oak, Shumard's oak, swamp red oak

live oak, southern live oak
Habit Trees, deciduous, to 35 m. Bark gray-brown to dark brown, shallowly fissured with scaly or light-colored flat ridges, inner bark pinkish. Trees, sometimes shrubs, subevergreen, trees to 35 m, shrubs sometimes rhizomatous.
Bark

dark brown or black, scaly.
Twigs

gray to light brown, (1.5-)2-3.5(-4.5) mm diam., glabrous.

yellowish to light gray, 1-3 mm diam., minutely puberulent or stellate-pubescent, glabrate in 2d year.
Buds

reddish or dark brown, subglobose or ovate, 1-2 mm;

scale margins glabrous or puberulent.
Leaves

blade broadly elliptic to obovate, 100-200 × 60-150 mm, base obtuse to truncate, occasionally acute, margins with 5-9 lobes and 15-50 awns, lobes oblong or distally expanded, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially glabrous except for prominent axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially glossy, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.

blade obovate to oblanceolate, sometimes orbiculate or lance-ovate, ± planar, (10-)35-90(-150) × (15-)20-40(-85) mm, base cuneate to rounded, rarely truncate or cordate, margins minutely revolute or flat, entire or irregularly 1-3-toothed on each side, teeth mucronate, secondary veins obscure, 6-9(-12) on each side, apex obtuse-rounded or acute;

surfaces abaxially whitish or glaucous, densely covered with minute, appressed, fused-stellate hairs, light green and glabrate in shade leaves, adaxially dark or light green, glossy, glabrous or with minute, scattered, stellate hairs.
Acorns

biennial;

cup saucer-shaped to cup-shaped, 7-12 mm high × 15-30 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/3 nut, outer surface glabrous or puberulent, inner surface light-brown to red-brown, glabrous or with ring of pubescence around scar, scales often with pale margins, tips tightly appressed, obtuse or acute;

nut ovoid to oblong, occasionally subglobose, 14-30 × 10-20 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 6.5-12 mm.

1-3, on peduncle (3-)10-20 mm;

cup hemispheric or deeply goblet-shaped, 8-15 mm deep × 8-15 mm wide, base often constricted;

scales whitish or grayish, proximally thickened, keeled, tomentulose, tips reddish, acute-attenuate, glabrous or puberulent;

nut dark brown, barrel-shaped, ovoid, or obcylindric, 15-20(-25) × 8-15 mm, apex rounded or blunt, glabrous.
Cotyledons

connate.
Terminal

buds gray to grayish brown, ovoid or broadly ellipsoid, 4-8 mm, often noticeably 5-angled in cross section, glabrous.

Quercus shumardii

Quercus virginiana
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering late winter–early spring.
Habitat Mesic slopes and bottoms, stream banks and poorly drained uplands Coastal plain, open evergreen woodlands, scrublands, and hummocks on loam, clay, and rarely on sand on immediate coast
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trees with shallow cups covering ca. one-fourth of the nut are treated as Quercus shumardii var. shumardii; those with more deeply rounded cups covering ca. one-third of the nut are treated as Q. shumardii var. schneckii (Britton) Sargent. Quercus shumardii var. stenocarpa Laughlin was described from several trees in Missouri and Illinois having ellipsoid acorns that were covered less than one-third their length by very small (5.5-7 mm high × 12.5-18 mm wide), shallow cups (K. Laughlin 1969).

Quercus shumardii reportedly hybridizes with Q. buckleyi, Q. falcata (= Q. ×joori Trelease), Q. hemisphaerica, Q. imbricaria (= Q. ×egglestoni Trelease), Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. marilandica, Q. nigra, Q. palustris (= Q. ×mutabilis E. J. Palmer & Steyermark), Q. phellos (= Q. ×moultonensis Ashe), Q. rubra, and Q. velutina (= Q. × discreta Laughlin).

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

Quercus virginiana is one of the commonest and best known species in the coastal region of the southeastern United States. In the past, it was widely used for structural pieces in the manufacture of wooden ships, and large groves were actually considered a strategic resource by the federal government. Historically oil pressed from the acorns was utilized. Like other members of the live oak group (Q. minima, Q. geminata, and Q. fusiformis), Q. virginiana seedlings form swollen hypocotyls that may develop into large, starchy, underground tubers. In the past, the tubers were gathered, sliced, and fried like potatoes for human consumption. The tendency for the tree members of this group to produce rhizomatous growth and clonal shrubs in juvenile stages, and in response to damage, fire, and poor soil conditions, has led to considerable confusion in delimiting the species. This is exacerbated by considerable plasticity in leaf form. When evaluating specimens an effort should be made to sample broadly within a population. The tuberous condition mentioned above suggests that live oaks have different phases in their life history that may persist depending on the environmental conditions. This is not uncommon in other woody plants that occur in seasonally dry, fire-prone habitats of the southeastern United States.

The Houma used Quercus virginiana medicinally for healing dysentery (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Putative hybrids between Quercus virginiana and Q. minima are known, but care should be taken to avoid assigning hybrid status to clonal phases of Q. virginiana solely on the basis of habit. Hybrids with Q. fusiformis and Q. geminata are discussed under those species. Occasional putative hybrids with Q. stellata are also found, and those tend to be semi-evergreen with shallowly lobed leaves.

Some named putative hybrids are: Q. ×burnetensis Little (= Q. macrocarpa × Q. virginiana); Q. ×comptonae Sargent (= Q. lyrata × Q. virginiana); and the artificially produced hybrid, Q. ×nessiana E. J. Palmer (= Q. bicolor × Q. virginiana).

(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. 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. robur, Q. robusta, Q. rubra, Q. rugosa, Q. sadleriana, 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. velutina, Q. viminea, Q. wislizenii
Synonyms Q. schneckii Q. virginiana var. eximea
Name authority Buckley: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12: 444. (1860) Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Quercus no. 16. (1768)
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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