Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus vacciniifolia

Quercus marilandica

huckleberry oak

blackjack oak
Habit Shrubs, low spreading to often prostrate, to 1.5 m. Twigs branching at 45° angles or less, reddish brown, 1-1.5 mm diam., flexible, glabrous to sparsely pubesent. Trees, deciduous, to 15 m. Bark almost black, with irregular or rectangular blocks, inner bark orangish.
Twigs

ashy brown, (1-)2-4(-5) mm diam., pubescent to tomentose.
Leaves

blade oblong-ovate, 10-35 × 7-15 mm, flat, thin, leathery, base slightly rounded to acute, secondary veins inconspicuous, 6-8 pairs, branching at 45-60° angles, with weakly thickened cell walls, margins entire or indistinctly and irregularly mucronately toothed, apex acute or rarely obtuse;

surfaces abaxially whitish green with waxy layer, glabrous or slightly pubescent with stellate hairs, adaxially dull gray-green, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with stellate hairs.

blade obovate to obtrullate, (50-)70-200 × (40-)70-200 mm, base rounded or cordate, blade not decurrent, margins with 3-5 shallow, often very broad lobes and 3-10 awns, apex acute to obtuse, rarely rounded;

surfaces abaxially scurfy or with scattered pubescence, adaxially glossy, glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces.
Acorns

solitary or rarely paired;

cup shallowly saucer-shaped to slightly turbinate, 3-4 mm deep × 10-15 mm wide, scales appressed, slightly embedded, moderately silvery brown-pubescent;

nut ovoid, 8-17 × 5-10 mm, apex acute;

nut scar to 3 mm diam.

biennial;

cup turbinate, 6-10 mm high × 13-18 mm wide, covering 1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent, scale tips loose, especially at margin of cup, acute or acuminate;

nut broadly ovoid or ellipsoid, 12-20 × 10-18 mm, often striate, glabrate, scar diam. 5-8 mm.
Terminal

buds conic, 2.5 mm, scales brown with ciliate margins.

buds conic or narrowly ovoid-ellipsoid, 5-10 mm, noticeably 5-angled in cross section, tawny pubescent.
[r.

c

.
Friesner

1930. J. W.
Duffield

(1940) suggested that Friesner was counting bivalents;

if so, then 2n = 24, consistent with all other reports for Quercus.]
2n

= 12.

Quercus vacciniifolia

Quercus marilandica
Phenology Flowering in early summer. Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry ridges, steep slopes, and rocky areas from montane coniferous zone to near treeline Poor shallow soils of glades, barrens and flatwoods, disturbed fields, rocky outcrops, and dry ridges
Elevation 900-2800 m (3000-9200 ft) 0-900 m (0-3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Typical high-elevation populations in the Sierra Nevada of California can be distinguished from all shrubby forms of Quercus chrysolepis by the absence of glandular trichomes and by thin cups with small nut-attachment scars. At lower elevations in northern California and southwestern Oregon, secondary contact with Q. chrysolepis has resulted in the formation of hybrids.

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

Evidence suggests that small trees from the western portion of the range (primarily Texas and Oklahoma) should be recognized as Quercus marilandica Münchhausen var. ashei Sudworth (D. M. Hunt 1989). These trees are characterized by 50-70 × 40-60 mm leaf blades with abaxial surfaces gray-tomentose in vein axils.

Quercus marilandica reportedly hybridizes with Q. buckleyi and Q. falcata (E. J. Palmer 1948); and with Q. georgiana, Q. ilicifolia (= Q. ×brittoni W. T. Davis), Q. imbricaria [= Q. ×tridentata (A. de Candolle) Engelmann], Q. incana, Q. nigra, Q. phellos (Q. ×rudkini Britton), and Q. velutina (= Q. ×bushii Sargent). D. M. Hunt (1989) cited evidence of hybridization also with Q. arkansana, Q. hemisphaerica, Q. laevis, Q. laurifolia, Q. myrtifolia, Q. palustris, and Q. rubra.

The Choctaw used Quercus marilandica to ease cramps and to aid in childbirth (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fagaceae > Quercus > sect. Protobalanus 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. 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. 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. 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
Name authority Hittell: Resources Calif. 101. (1863) — (as vaccinifolia) Münchhausen: Hausvater 5(1): 253. (1770)
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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