Part 9

SHUMARD OAK (Spotted Oak) Quercus shumardii Buckl.

This species, one of the largest Southern red oaks, was named for Benjamin F. Shumard, an early state geologist of Texas. SHUMARD OAK is found in the eastern part of the state on well-drained alluvial soils and on fertile slopes. It forms a tall, wide-spreading, rather open head. The BARK is dark, rough, divided into ridges, and usually from 1 to 1½ inches thick. It seldom comprises the principal species of any forest stands, but more often occurs as individual trees. It attains a diameter of more than 3 feet and a height of more than 100 feet, but is usually smaller.

Winter BUDS covered with gray, smooth scales, while the buds of Texas oak (page 44) are covered with red, densely pubescent scales.

The LEAVES are deciduous, simple, alternate 6 to 8 inches long by 4 to 5 inches wide; 7-lobed, rarely 5, and each lobe 2 or 3-lobed or deeply toothed. The lobes are frequently thicker than is shown in the drawing. The leaves are smaller and more deeply lobed than those of the black oak. Leaves smooth except for dense tufts of pale hairs at the axils of the veins below.

The FRUIT is a small acorn, about ⅔ inch in diameter and ¾ to 1¼ inches long, set in a shallow saucer-like cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, and light reddish-brown in color, and commercially important for lumber and cross ties.

The variety shumardii has leaves with narrow lobes, a rougher, dark grayish bark, and deeper cups to the acorns. It is the more common form in Texas.

TEXAS OAK Quercus shumardii var. texana (Buckl.) Ashe

Texas oak is found on the dry limestone hills and ridges, and in the more fertile soils at their base, in Central and western Texas to the Edwards Plateau. It is rarely over 30 feet tall or 10 inches in diameter.

The BARK is light brown, red-tinged, deeply ridged, and broken into plate-like scales.

The LEAVES are deciduous 2½ to 3 inches wide, 3 to 3½ inches long; widest above the middle; divided into 5 to 7 lobes, with the terminal lobe 3-lobed; dark green and shiny above, pale-shiny below; petiole slender, about 1 inch long.

The FRUIT is short-stemmed, usually single, ¼ to ¾ inch long and broad, varying to nearly 1 inch long and ⅓ inch broad, set in a cup that covers one-third or less of the fruit, reddish-brown and often streaked with dark lines.

The WOOD is most useful for fuel.

GRAVES OAK (Q. gravesii Sudw.) is found in the Davis and Chisos Mountains of southwestern Texas.

BLACK OAK Quercus velutina Lam.

Black oak, also called yellow oak, reaches 80 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet in diameter. It grows in East Texas, and in the hills and canyons near the mouth of the Pecos River. The crown is irregularly shaped and wide, with a clear trunk for 20 feet or more on large trees. The BARK on the very young trunks is smooth and dark brown, but soon becomes thick and black with deep furrows and rough broken edges. The bright yellow color and bitter taste of the inner bark are distinguishing characteristics.

The LEAVES are deciduous, alternate, simple, 5 to 10 inches long and 3 to 8 inches wide, shallow or deeply lobed, the shape varying greatly. When mature, the leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, pale on the lower, more or less covered with a scurfy yellow or orange down, and with conspicuous rusty brown hairs in the forks of the veins.

The FRUIT matures the second season. The light brown nut is from ½ to 1 inch long, more or less hemispherical in shape, and from one-half to three-fourths enclosed in the thin, dark brown, scaly cup. The yellow kernel is bitter.

The WOOD, used and marketed as red oak, is hard, heavy, strong, coarse-grained, and checks easily. It is a bright red-brown with a thin outer edge of paler sapwood.

SOUTHERN RED OAK Quercus falcata Michx.

Southern red oak, commonly known as red oak and formerly as Spanish oak, usually reaches a height of 80 feet and diameter of 3 feet, although larger trees are found. It grows on dry hills in the eastern part of the state to the Brazos River, while three varieties are found in richer, more moist locations. Its large spreading branches form a broad, round, open top. The BARK is rough, not deeply furrowed, and varies from light gray on younger trees to dark gray or almost black on older ones.

The LEAVES are deciduous, with pear-shaped or irregular, rounded or narrow bristle-tipped lobes, the central lobe often longest. Variety pagodaefolia Ell., (Cherrybark Oak) has more numerous lobes. All leaves have brown or gray down beneath.

The staminate FLOWERS appear as catkins 3-5 inches long in April while the leaves unfold. The FRUIT ripens the second year. The small, rounded, ½ inch long acorn is set in a thin saucer-shaped cup that tapers to a short stalk.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, and valuable for lumber. The bark is rich in tannin. The tree is also desirable for shade and ornamental use.

BLACKJACK OAK Quercus marilandica Muenchh.

The occurrence of blackjack oak is said to indicate poor soil since it often occurs on dry or poorly drained, gravelly, clay, or sandy upland soils where few other forest trees thrive. This perhaps accounts chiefly for its slow rate of growth. It is found in those parts of the state that support a natural tree growth, as far west as Callahan County. The tree sometimes reaches a height of 50 or 60 feet and a diameter of 16 inches, but it is usually much smaller. Its hard, stiff, drooping branches form a dense crown which usually contains many persistent dead twigs.

The BARK is rough, very dark, often nearly black, and “blocky”; inner bark bright orange or yellow.

The LEAVES are deciduous, tawny-pubescent, of leathery texture, dark green on the upper surface, lighter underneath, broadly wedge-shaped, and variable in shape, 4 to 10 inches long and about the same in width. The FRUIT is an acorn about ¾ inch long, yellow-brown and often striped, enclosed for half its length or more in a thick, light-brown cup. The acorns mature at the end of the second season; flesh of cotyledons yellow.