>>>Red Oak<<<

(Quercus falcata)




Authors: Brandon Andrews and Sarah Ambrose
10th Grade, Cedar Shoals High School, Athens-Clarke County Georgia

Family= Fagaceae
Genus= Quercus
Species= falcata

  • Leaves: Alternate, simple, five to nine inches long, four to five inches wide, extremely variable. Lustrous dark-green above, rusty below.
  • Flowers: Unisexual; the staminate, in 3" to 5" hairy catkins; the pistillate, solitary or in few-flowered spikes, born on short, stout hairy stalks.
  • Fruit: An acorn, solitary or in pairs; nut, hemispherical or nearly globular. They are half an inch long, orange-brown.
  • Bark: Up to one inch thick, dark brown or black. The rough, scaly ridges are seperated by deep fissures.
  • Twigs: Stout, becoming dark red in their second season; terminal buds, reddish-brown, ovoid, acute; similar to those of other red oaks.


    Geography

    Distribution: On the coastal plain and the Piedmont region to New Jersey to Alabama, north to southern Illinois and Indiana, south through Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Also through southern Ohio and central Florida.


    General Information


  • Economic Importance: mainly lumber and furniture :o(
  • Height: 60 to 80 feet.
  • Diameter: 1 to 2 1\2 feet.
  • Habitat: Various soils, especially poor and sandy, on upland ridges and slopes; with other oaks and in mixed forests.


    References


    1. Harrar, Ellwood S. and J. George Harrar. Guide to Southern Trees. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962
    2. Little, Elbert L.The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees (Eastern Region)New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1980.