Flora of North America species comparison

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Quercus vacciniifolia

Quercus rubra

huckleberry oak

chêne rouge, northern red oak, red 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 30 m. Bark gray or dark gray, ridges wide, shiny, separated by shallow fissures, inner bark pinkish.
Twigs

reddish brown, 2-3.5(-4.5) mm diam., glabrous.
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 ovate to elliptic or obovate, 120-200 × 60-120 mm, base broadly cuneate to almost truncate, margins with 7-11 lobes and 12-50 awns, lobes oblong, occasionally distally expanded, separated by shallow sinuses, sinuses usually extending less than 1/2 distance to midrib, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially pale green, often glaucous, glabrous except for minute axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially dull green, 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 saucer- to cup-shaped, 5-12 mm high × 18-30 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface light brown to red-brown, glabrous or with ring of pubescence around scar, scales less than 4 mm, often with dark margins, tips tightly appressed, obtuse;

nut ovoid to oblong, 15-30 × 10-21 mm, glabrous, scar diam. 6.5-12.5 mm.
Terminal

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

buds dark reddish brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, 4-7 mm, glabrous or with tuft of reddish hairs at apex.
2n

= 24.

Quercus vacciniifolia

Quercus rubra
Phenology Flowering in early summer. Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry ridges, steep slopes, and rocky areas from montane coniferous zone to near treeline Commonly on mesic slopes and well-drained uplands, occasionally on dry slopes or poorly drained uplands
Elevation 900-2800 m (3000-9200 ft) 0-1800 m (0-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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.)

Trees with large nuts only one-fourth covered by flat saucer-shaped cups often are treated as Quercus rubra var. rubra; those with smaller nuts one-third covered by cup- or bowl-shaped cups are treated as Q. rubra var. borealis (F. Michaux) Farwell. While E. J. Palmer (1942) suggested that these two varieties do not, K. M. McDougal and C. R. Parks (1986) found evidence of correspondence between morphologic types and flavonoid chemotypes. This is one of the most important ornamental and timber trees in the genus.

Native Americans used Quercus rubra for a number of medical purposes, including the treatment of sores, weakness, lung problems, sore throat, dysentery, indigestion, chapped skin, chills and fevers, lost voice, asthma, cough, milky urine, hear trouble, blood diseases, and Italian itch, and as an appetizer (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Quercus rubra reportedly hybridizes with Q. coccinea (= Q. ×benderi Baenitz) and Q. ellipsoidalis (P. C. Swain 1972; R. J. Jensen et al. 1993); with Q. ilicifolia (= Q. ×fernaldii Trelease), Q. imbricaria [Q. ×runcinata (A. de Candolle) Engelmann], and Q. marilandica (E. J. Palmer 1948; D. M. Hunt 1989); with Q. nigra (D. M. Hunt 1989); and with Q. palustris (= Q. ×columnaris Laughlin), Q. phellos (= Q. ×heterophylla F. Michaux), Q. shumardii (= Q. ×riparia Laughlin), and Q. velutina (= Q. ×hawkinsii Sudworth).

(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. 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. 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. borealis, Q. maxima
Name authority Hittell: Resources Calif. 101. (1863) — (as vaccinifolia) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 996. (1753)
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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