Black Oak, also known as Yellow, Smoothbark, or Yellowbark Oak, is a medium to large deciduous tree, growing to around 80 feet tall and producing catkins and acorns. The leaves are shiny green above and pale green below, and turn red or orange in the fall. It can grow in full sun to partial shade, and in soils that are dry and sandy to moist and rich. This tree is distinguishable by its yellow to orange inner bark, which was once used as a dye for cloth.
Shumard’s Oak, also called Southern Red Oak and Spotted Oak, is a medium-sized oak that typically reaches 50 to 90 feet in height, with a pyramidal shape that becomes more open-canopied at maturity. It has shiny, dark green leaves that turn scarlet in the fall, and its acorns are almost as wide as they are long, with a low toxicity if eaten raw. Shumard’s Oak is an attractive, fast-growing shade tree that tolerates drought and short-term flooding, growing in full sun to partial shade and in dry to moist soils.
A deciduous, perennial oak that typically reaches 75 to 100 feet in height, this tree has a rounded, often irregular crown. It has dark, lustrous green leaves that turn brownish-red in the fall, during which it also produces small acorns. This oak grows in full sun to partial shade, and in dry to moist, well-drained, loamy soils. It attracts a variety of butterflies, moths, mammals, and birds, including hummingbirds and ground birds.
This medium-sized, deciduous tree also goes by the names Swamp Willow Oak, Pin Oak, and Peach Oak. It can reach 75 or even 100 feet in height, with a cone-shaped crown and leaves that are bright green above, paler beneath, and turn dull gold in the fall. Willow Oak is a popular shade tree, providing nesting sites, cover, and nuts for birds, small mammals, and other wildlife. It grows in partial shade and in moist clay or loamy soils.
Also called Swamp Spanish Oak, this medium-sized, deciduous tree typically grows 50 to 70 feet tall, with a broad, pyramidal crown. Its glossy, dark green leaves grow to 5 inches long and turn deep red in fall, producing small acorns. A fast-growing oak, it can grow in full sun to shade, in moist to wet soils, including heavy, poorly drained soils.
This large tree also goes by the names of Possum Oak, Punk Oak, and Spotted Oak. Growing up to 100 feet tall, it has thick, leathery, dark-green leaves that are semi-evergreen in the warmer parts of its range. Its foliage turns yellow in fall and provides cover, nesting sites, and food in the form of catkins and nuts to birds, mammals, and butterflies. Though fast-growing, Water Oak is short-lived, growing best in partial shade and in deep, moist, poorly drained soils.
Chinkapin Oak, also called Chestnut, Yellow, and Rock Oak, is a medium-sized oak that typically grows 60 to 80 feet in height. It produces light gray, plated, or scaly bark, smooth, gray twigs, variable fall color, and small acorns that have a low toxicity if eaten raw. This relatively fast-growing tree does best in full sun and well-drained, rocky and sandy soils.
Also known as Basket Oak and Cow Oak, this perennial, deciduous oak typically reaches 60 to 100 feet in height, with a tight, narrow crown. The bark is light gray with rough, flaky edges, and the leaves turn yellow and red in the fall. This tree attracts a variety of wildlife including butterflies, mammals, and birds for its cover, nesting sites, nuts, and fruit. It grows in partial shade, in moist, deep, rich soils.
This medium-sized oak can grow 30 to 50 feet tall. Also known as Barren Oak or Jack Oak, it has glossy, dark-green foliage that turns red in the fall and persists into winter. Its bark is thick, furrowed, and nearly black, and its oblong acorns are broadly rounded at the apex and base. This tree grows in partial shade, and in a variety of soils, including gravelly, sandy, loamy, and clayey soils.
This deciduous tree goes by many names, including Savannah, Overcup, Prairie, Mossy-cup, and Blue Oak. It is a long-lived shade tree with a massive trunk and sprawling canopy, growing over 100 feet tall and wide in full sun to shade and in various soil conditions. It has thick, gray bark and deeply lobed, green leaves. The nuts have distinctive, coarse scales on the caps, and its tolerance to air pollution makes it a good urban tree.
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