Tree Description:
A large forest tree that can reach a height of 100 feet or more and a trunk diameter to 4 feet. It is generally a single tree or infrequent among the moist woods that include loblolly pine, water oak, sweetgum, green ash, and blackgum.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs in East Texas as far west as the Trinity River, on moist slopes or bottomlands along the major river corridors.
Leaf:
Simple, alternate, 4" to 8" long and 3" to 5" wide, oval or oblong in shape, leaf margin with many rounded teeth and no bristle-tips, dark green and glossy on top and pubescent beneath, turning a rich crimson in the fall.
Flower:
Separate male and female flowers appear in spring on the same tree. Male flowers borne on a yellowish catkin 1" to 2.5" long; the less conspicuous female flowers are yellow-red in color.
Fruit:
A large acorn, requiring one season to mature, about 1.5" long and 1" in diameter, bright, shiny brown and enclosed by one-third to one-half in a thick, bowl-shaped cup.
Bark:
Light gray, and on old trees is broken into broad flakes or divided into strips.
Wood:
Heavy, hard, tough, strong, and takes an excellent polish. Used to manufacture lumber, veneer, shakes, water-tight barrels, fuel, fence posts, and baskets.
Similar Species:
At a distance the tree resembles white oak (Quercus alba), but the leaf lacks deep indentations and the acorn is larger; chinkapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii) has sharper, recurved teeth on the leaf margin and occurs on limestone soils in Central Texas.
Interesting Facts:
Acorns are favored by cows, which gives the tree one of its common names; its wood can be split along the growth rings and used to make baskets, giving it another common name.
