Tree Description:
A small to medium-sized woodland tree usually no more than 25 feet in height and 6" in diameter, with an irregular, open crown of gray-green foliage. Tree is most attractive in early spring when it is covered with the light red flowers and young leaves
Range/Site Description:
Found on dry sand hills in East Texas, extending as far west as the Brazos River, and scattered across Central Texas.
Leaf:
Simple, alternate, oblong-lanceolate, 3" to 5" in length and 1" to 1.5" wide, with a single bristle at leaf tip; gray-green above, light gray-pubescent beneath, with a stout yellow midrib.
Flower:
Separate male and female flowers on the same tree. Male flowers borne on a catkin about 3" long; inconspicuous female flowers borne on a short, pubescent stalk.
Fruit:
An acorn, requiring two years to mature and produced in great profusion, 0.5" long, sessile or on a short stalk, rounded at the ends, and often striped.
Bark:
Similar to blackjack oak, being black or dark gray and divided into thick, squarish blocks 1" across with irregular fissures between.
Wood:
Wood is hard, strong, close-grained, light brown tinged with red, with a dark colored sapwood. The wood is used for fuelwood and posts.
Similar Species:
Willow oak (Quercus phellos) occurs on moist sites and has narrow leaves less than 1" wide; blackjack oak (Q. marilandica) occurs on similar sites but has large obovate leaves 10" long.
Interesting Facts:
Often associated with longleaf pine stands in East Texas, where it occurs with black hickory, flowering dogwood, post oak, and farkleberry.
