Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus
Section: Lobatae (red oaks)
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Quercus coccinea
FAMILY
Fagaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read Edible Wild Plants: Oak from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus coccinea
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Quercus coccinea
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus coccinea var. coccinea
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus coccinea var. tuberculata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Quercus coccinea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-021:
Quercus coccinea FAMILY Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus coccinea
COMMON NAME:
Scarlet Oak
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_279
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_quco2_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_quercus_coccinea_4
January
Bark on upper trunk, light to dark gray with lighter streaks, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Herbarium of Clemson University h_cu25812
May Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_q_coccinea_9_6_05_1
September
Bark at base on mature trees dark brown to blackish, often rough & blocky, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_q_coccinea_9_6_05_11
September
Acorn cup thick, covering 1/3-1/2 of nut; nut 15-20mm long, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_q_coccinea_9_6_05_13
September
Nut usually with concentric rings at apex, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_q_coccinea_leaves
September
Leaf base rounded, truncate, or shortly tapered, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s011027_b
October Greenville County SC
Lf base truncate, glossy light green above, tufts of axillary tomentum below, per Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (Stein, Binion, & Acciavatti, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm181031_5439
November Greenville County SC
Leaves shiny-green below, virtually hairless except in vein axils, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm181031_5443
November Greenville County SC
Small tufts of hair in axils of main veins below, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow s011111_l
November Greenville County SC
Leaves deeply 5-9 lobed, sinuses rounded, larger lobes with 3+ bristles, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
COMPARE
leaves of Pin Oak, Scarlet Oak, Shumard Oak and Texas Oak
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Quercus coccinea
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus coccinea
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Quercus coccinea
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus coccinea var. coccinea
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus coccinea var. tuberculata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Quercus coccinea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-021:
Quercus coccinea
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus coccinea
1183
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Xeric upland forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Carolina Coastal Plain) (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate, 5-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-8 lobed, pistillate calyx 6-lobed
Petals absent
3-12 stamens in staminate flowers
Unisexual
Staminate flowers in clustered drooping catkins
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Acorn
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p049
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p310
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p186
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p286
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p215
- Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (Stein, Binion, & Acciavatti, 2003) p022
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p167
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p286
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p23
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p256
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p268
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