Quercus, the Latin name for oak, means “a fine tree.” Red Oak is an important source of lumber and is used for flooring, furniture, railroad cross-ties, mine timbers, millwork, fence posts, pilings, pulpwood, and other things. Its bark is rich in tannins. Quercus marilandica is a deciduous Tree growing to 10 m (32ft) by 7 m (23ft) at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen in October.

Blackjack oak is a common timber tree in forests that have been badly burned or are growing on the poorest soils. Rugged but not worth much for lumber, it is often one of the first trees to be used as fuel, which prevents more glorious trees from such destruction.

Quercus velutina, the eastern black oak or more commonly known as simply black oak, is a species in the red oak (Quercus sect. Lobatae) group of oaks. It is widespread in eastern and central North America, found in all the coastal states from Maine to Texas, inland as far as Michigan, Ontario, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas.^[3] and possibly in southern Quebec

Quercus velutina was previously known as yellow oak due to the yellow pigment in its inner bark, however nowadays this name is usually reserved for chinkapin oak.^[4] It is a close relative of the California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) found in western North America.

Description[edit]

In the northern part of its range, black oak is a relatively small tree, reaching a height of 20–25 m (66–82 ft) and a diameter of 90 cm (35 in), but it grows larger in the south and center of its range, where heights of up to 42 m (138 ft) are known. Black oak is well known to readily hybridize with other members of the red oak (Quercus sect. Lobatae) group of oaks being one parent in at least a dozen different named hybrids.^[5]

The leaves of the black oak are alternately arranged on the twig and are 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long with 5–7 bristle-tipped lobes separated by deep U-shaped notches. The upper surface of the leaf is a shiny deep green, the lower is yellowish-brown. There are also stellate hairs on the underside of the leaf that grow in clumps.^[5]

The inner bark of the black oak contains a yellow pigment called quercitron, which was sold commercially in Europe until the 1940s.

Key Characteristics:

Sun leaves have very deep u-shaped sinuses.^[5]

The buds are velvety and covered in white hair.^[5]

The fruits or acorns of the black oak are medium-sized and broadly rounded.^[6] The cap is large and covers almost half of the nut.^[5]

Soil and topography[edit]

In southern New England, black oak grows on cool, moist soils. Elsewhere it occurs on warm, moist soils.

The most widespread soils on which black oak grows are the Udalfs and Udolls. These soils are derived from glacial materials, sandstones, shales, and limestone and range from heavy clays to loamy sands with some having a high content of rock or chert fragments. Black oak grows best on well drained, silty clay to loam soils.

Black oak grows on all aspects and slope positions. It grows best in coves and on middle and lower slopes with northerly and easterly aspects. It is found at elevations up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in the southern Appalachians.

The most important factors determining site quality for black oak are the thickness and texture of the A horizon, texture of the B horizon, aspect, and slope position. Other factors may be important in localized areas. For example, in northwestern West Virginia increasing precipitation to 1,120 mm (44 in) resulted in increased site quality; more than 1,120 mm (44 in) had no further effect. In southern Indiana, decreasing site quality was associated with increasing slope steepness.

Near the limits of black oak's range, topographic factors may restrict its distribution. At the western limits black oak is often found only on north and east aspects where moisture conditions are most favorable. In southern Minnesota and Wisconsin it is usually found only on ridge tops and the lower two-thirds of south- and west-facing slopes.

Black oak is often a predominant species in the canopy of an oak–heath forest.^[7][8]

Associated forest cover[edit]

Black Oak is the forest cover type that designates pure stands of the species or those in which it makes up more than 50 percent of the stand basal area. Black oak is a major associate in white oak–black oak–northern red oak.

Other tree associates of black oak include pignut hickory (Carya glabra), mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa), bitternut hickory (C. cordiformis), and shagbark hickory (C. ovata); American elm (Ulmus americana) and slippery elm (U. rubra); white ash (Fraxinus americana); black walnut (Juglans nigra) and butternut (J. cinerea); scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), southern red oak (Q. falcata), and chinkapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii); red maple (Acer rubrum) and sugar maple (A. saccharum); black cherry (Prunus serotina); and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica).

Common small tree associates of black oak include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), redbud (Cercis canadensis), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), downy serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), and American bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia). Common shrubs include Vaccinium spp., mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia), witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sumac (Rhus spp.), and Viburnum spp. The most common vines are greenbrier (Smilax spp.), grape (Vitis spp.), poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).

Flowers and fruiting[edit]

Black oak is monoecious. The staminate flowers develop from leaf axils of the previous year and the catkins emerge before or at the same time as the current leaves in April or May. The pistillate flowers are borne in the axils of the current year's leaves and may be solitary or occur in two- to many-flowered spikes. The fruit, an acorn that occurs singly or in clusters of two to five, is about one-third enclosed in a scaly cup and matures in 2 years. Black oak acorns are brown when mature and ripen from late August to late October, depending on geographic location.

Seed production and dissemination[edit]

In forest stands, black oak begins to produce seeds at about age 20 and reaches optimum production at 40 to 75 years. It is a consistent seed producer with good crops of acorns every 2 to 3 years. In Missouri, the average number of mature acorns per tree was generally higher than for other oaks over a 5-year period, but the number of acorns differed greatly from year to year and from tree to tree within the same stand.

The number of seeds that become available for regenerating black oak may be low even in good seed years. Insects, squirrels, deer, turkey, small rodents, and birds consume many acorns. They can eat or damage a high percentage of the acorn crop in most years and essentially all of it in poor seed years.

Black oak acorns from a single tree are dispersed over a limited area by squirrels, mice, and gravity. The blue jay may disperse over longer distances.

Response to competition[edit]

Black oak is classed as intermediate in tolerance to shade. It is less tolerant than many of its associates such as white and chestnut oaks, hickories, beech (Fagus grandifolia), maples, elm, and blackgum. However, it is more tolerant than yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), black cherry, and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). It is about the same as northern red oak and scarlet oak. Seedlings usually die within a few years after being established under fully stocked over stories. Most black oak sprouts under mature stands develop crooked stems and flat-topped or misshapen crowns. After the over story is removed, only the large stems are capable of competing successfully. Seedlings are soon overtopped. The few that survive usually remain in the intermediate crown class.

Even-aged silvicultural systems satisfy the reproduction and growth requirements of black oak better than the all-aged or uneven-aged selection system. Under the selection system, black oak is unable to reproduce because of inadequate light. Stands containing black oak that are managed under the selection system will gradually be dominated by more shade-tolerant species.

Dormant buds are numerous on the boles of black oak trees. These buds may be stimulated to sprout and produce branches by mechanical pruning or by exposure to greatly increased light, as by thinning heavily or creating openings in the stand. Dominant trees are less likely to produce epicormic branches than those in the lower crown classes.

Damaging agents[edit]

Wildfires seriously damage black oak trees by killing the cambium at the base of the trees. This creates an entry point for decay fungi. The end result is loss of volume because of heart rot. Trees up to pole size are easily killed by fire and severe fires may even kill saw timber. Many of the killed trees sprout and form a new stand. However, the economic loss may be large unless at least some of it can be salvaged.

Oak wilt (Ceratocystis fagacearum) is a potentially serious vascular disease of black oak that is widespread throughout the eastern United States. Trees die within a few weeks after the symptoms first appear. Usually scattered individuals or small groups of trees are killed, but areas several hectares in size may be affected. The disease is spread from tree to tree through root grafts and over larger distances by sap-feeding beetles (Nitidulidae) and the small oak bark beetle.

Shoestring root rot (Armillaria mellea) attacks black oak and may kill trees weakened by fire, lightning, drought, insects, or other diseases. A root rot, Phytophthora cinnamomi, may kill seedlings in the nursery. Cankers caused by Strumella and Nectria species damage the holes of black oak but seldom kill trees. Foliage diseases that attack black oak are the same as those that typically attack species in the red oak group and include anthracnose (Gnomonia quercina), leaf blister (Taphrina spp.), powdery mildews (Phyllactinia corylea and Microsphaera alni), oak-pine rusts (Cronartium spp.), and leaf spots (Actinopelte dryina).

Tunneling insects that attack the boles of black oak and cause serious lumber degrade include the carpenter worm (Prionoxystus robiniae), red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus), the twolined chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus), the oak timber worm (Arrhenodes minutus), and the Columbian timber beetle (Corthylus columbianus).

The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) feeds on foliage and is potentially the most destructive insect. Although black oaks withstood a single defoliation, two or three defoliations in successive years kill many trees. Other defoliators that attack black oak and may occasionally be epidemic are the variable oak leaf caterpillar (Heterocampa manteo), the orange striped oakworm (Anisota senatoria), and the brown tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea).

The nut weevils (Curculio spp.), gall-forming cynipids (Callirhytis spp.), filbertworm (Melissopus latiferreanus), and acorn moth (Valentinia glandulella) damage black oak acorns.

Named hybrids involving black oak[edit]

• Quercus × bushii (Quercus marilandica × Q. velutina) – Bush's oak
• Quercus × cocksii (Quercus laurifolia × Q. velutina) – Cocks' oak
• Quercus × demarei (Quercus nigra × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × discreta (Quercus shumardii × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × filialis (Quercus phellos × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × fontana (Quercus coccinea × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × hawkinsiae (Quercus rubra × Q. velutina) – Hawkin's oak
• Quercus × leana (Quercus imbricaria × Q. velutina) – Lea's oak
• Quercus × palaeolithicola (Quercus ellipsoidalis × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × podophylla (Quercus incana × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × rehderi (Quercus ilicifolia × Q. velutina) – Rehder's oak
• Quercus × vaga (Quercus palustris × Q. velutina)
• Quercus × willdenowiana (Quercus falcata × Q. velutina) – Willdenow's oak

References[edit]

1. ^Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de (1785). Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique. 1. p. 721.
2. ^'Quercus velutina'. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2016-04-27 – via The Plant List.
3. ^'Quercus velutina'. County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
4. ^Sander, Ivan L. (1990). 'Quercus velutina'. In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2. Retrieved 18 November 2012 – via Southern Research Station (www.srs.fs.fed.us).
5. ^ ^abcdeNixon, Kevin C. (1997). 'Quercus velutina'. In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 3. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 27 April 2016 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
6. ^Zim, Herbert S.; Martin, Alexander C. (1987). Trees: A Guide to Familiar American Trees. Golden Guides. Golden Books. ISBN9780307240569.
7. ^The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups. (Version 2.3), Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2010
8. ^Schafale, M. P. and Weakley, A. S. (1990). Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina: third approximation. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.

External links[edit]

Red Oak Latin Name

Quercus marilandica, the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak groupQuercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the eastern and central United States, from Long Island to Florida, west as far as Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. There are reports of a few isolated populations in southern Michigan, but these appear to represent introductions.^[5][6]

Quercus marilandica is a small deciduoustree growing to 15 meters (49 feet) tall, with bark cracked into rectangular black plates with narrow orange fissures. The leaves are 7–20 cm (3–8 in) long and broad, and typically flare from a tapered base to a broad three-lobed bell shape with only shallow indentations. They are dark green and glossy above, pubescent underneath, and often remain attached to the twigs through the winter after turning colors from red to brown in the fall. The acorn is small, 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long and 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) broad; like other red oaks, it takes 18 months to mature.^[7]

Habitat and distribution[edit]

The blackjack oak grows in poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other woody plants can thrive, usually on low ground, from sea level up to approximately 2,800 feet (850 meters) in altitude. Some say that it does not have the beautiful form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing in problem sites.^[8] Some say that the tree is 'tough but ugly', but also underappreciated.^[9][10] At times the tree has even been actively eradicated to provide more room for trees deemed to be more commercially valuable.^[11]

It is sometimes an understory tree in pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern US. Along the coastal plain of New Jersey the probability of finding this species is increased in relatively sunny, open areas such as those near coastal salt marshes. It often occurs near scarlet and post oaks as well as pitch pine; understory companions include winged sumac, bracken, sweetfern, and bayberry, and can be found as far north as parts of Ohio^[12] and New York.

A variety, Quercus marilandica Münchhausen var. asheiSudworth,^[7] grows in the western portions of its range – northern Texas, Oklahoma, and into southern Kansas. In this area, blackjack and post oak form a semi-savanna area composed of forested strips intermixed with prairie grass glades along the eastern edge of the southern Great Plains. This semi-savanna is known as the Cross Timbers.^[13][14][15] Scrub forms of Q. marilandica dominate on many chert glades along with Q.stellata in Arkansas's Ozark plateau.^[16]

Blackjack oak sometimes hybridizes with bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia), forming a hybrid known as Q. × brittonii.^[17]

Blackjacks in the Cross Timbers can grow from 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) high with a trunk diameter of 16 inches (41 cm), but seldom reach more than 40 feet (12 m). The leaves are from 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) in length and about the same width. Blackjack acorns provide food for both whitetail deer and wild turkey. Blackjacks may, however, cause tannic acid poisoning in cattle.

Uses[edit]

The wood is very dense and produces a hot flame when burned, which functions as an excellent source of heat for barbecues and wood-burning stoves. However, the wood is not desirable for wood fireplaces because the heat causes popping, thereby increasing the risk of house fires.^[18]

Traditionally blackjack wood is used as both a fuel and smoke wood for barbecue in Oklahoma.

Blackjack Oak Information

References[edit]

1. ^Wenzell, K.; Kenny, L. (2015). 'Quercus marilandica'. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.old-form url
2. ^Münchhausen, Otto von (1770). 'Verzeichniß der Bäume und Stauden, welche in Deutschland fortkommen'. Der Hausvater. 5. Hannover: Försters und Sohns Erben. pp. 253: diagnosis in Latin, description in German in Teutonic script.
3. ^'Quercus marilandica (L.) Münchh'. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 31 October 2017 – via The Plant List.
4. ^'Quercus marilandica Münchh'. Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
5. ^'Quercus marilandica Range Map'(PDF). United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
6. ^'Quercus marilandica'. County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
7. ^ ^abNixon, Kevin C. (1997). 'Quercus marilandica'. In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 3. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 31 October 2017 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
8. ^Liming, Franklin G. (1 March 1942). 'Blackjack Oak in the Missouri Ozarks'. Journal of Forestry. Society of American Foresters. 40 (3): 249–252.
9. ^Klingaman, Gerald (September 22, 2000). 'Plant of the Week: Blackjack Oak'. Extension News. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
10. ^Nelson, John (12 January 2017). 'Blackjack oak grows in hardscrabble habitat'. Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
11. ^Clark, F. Bryan; Liming, Franklin G. (December 1953), Sprouting of Blackjack Oak in the Missouri Ozarks, Technical Paper No. 137, Division of Forest Management, Central States Forest Experiment Station
12. ^'Blackjack Oak'. What Tree Is It?. Ohio Public Library Information Network and The Ohio Historical Society. 1997.
13. ^Oklahoma Biological Survey (2016). 'Ancient Cross Timbers'. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
14. ^Oklahoma Forestry Services. 'Oklahoma's Forests > Oklahoma's Major Forest Types > Post Oak-Blackjack Forest'. Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
15. ^Engle, David M. (18 March 1997). 'Oak ecology'. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State University. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
16. ^Hogan, C. Michael (26 November 2012). 'Oak'. In Dawson, A.; Cleveland, C.J. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Earth. Washington DC: National Council for Science and the Environment. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013.
17. ^Shapiro, Leo (28 September 2012). 'Quercus marilandica – Blackjack Oak'. Encyclopedia of Life. Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
18. ^Hatch, Stephan L.; Pluhar, Jennifer, eds. (1999). Texas Range Plants. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN0-89096-538-2.

External links[edit]