OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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 (4/24/22):
Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Quercus nigra

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-025:

Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Quercus nigra

 

COMMON NAME:
Water Oak, Paddle Oak


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p33

        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_293

        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_quni_001_lvd

        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_quni_006_lvd

        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm0501b_08

January    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Some green leaves until midwinter, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm0501c_15

January    Pickens County    SC

Roadside

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm090119_003

January    Greenville County    SC

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm180218_0287

February    McCormick County    SC

Parks Mill

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Gill Newberry    gn03_q_migra_female_flowe

March        

Pistillate flowers solitary or 2-3 on a short spike, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Gill Newberry    gn03_quercus_nigra

March        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Gill Newberry    gn03_quercus_nigra2

March        

Staminate flowers in clustered drooping catkins, each flower with 3-12 stamens, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    s050503_b

May    Greenville County    SC

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_quercus_nigra_leaves

September        

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

Paul Thompson    pstquercus_nigra

September?        

Note tufts of woolly pubescence on leaf undersides in lateral vein axils. — Clemson Extension

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm0510c_09

October    Greenville County    SC

Churchyard or cemetery

Thin acorn cup, covering 1/4 nut; nut mostly 10-14mm long and as wide, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    jkm181031_5438

November    Greenville County    SC

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    s041201_b

December    Greenville County    SC

Churchyard or cemetery

Leaves broadest near tip, tapering to a long narrow base, sometimes lobed, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Quercus nigra, Water Oak, Paddle Oak

JK Marlow    s041201_c

December    Greenville County    SC

Churchyard or cemetery

Seedlings and fire sprouts of this species are highly variable in leaf morphology, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Quercus nigra

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-025:
Quercus nigra   FAMILY Fagaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus nigra

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1193

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Bottomland forests, especially on levees or second terraces where flooded infrequently and for short periods, less commonly on mesic slopes, but also now widely distributed and common as a "weed tree" in upland situations, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (rare in Mountains)

map
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!



 


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