| Georgia oak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Georgia oak leaves | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
| Section: | Quercus sect. Lobatae |
| Species: | Q. georgiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus georgiana | |
 | |
| Natural range | |
Quercus georgiana, the Georgia oak or Stone Mountain oak, is a rare deciduous red oak, native to the southeastern United States.
Quercus georgiana is a small tree, often shrubby in the wild, growing to 8–15 meters (26–49 feet) tall. It is classified in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae.
The shiny green leaves are 4–13 centimeters (1+1⁄2–5 inches) long and 2–9 cm (1–3+1⁄2 in) wide, with a 0.6–2.3 cm (1⁄4–1 in) petiole, and five irregular, pointed, bristle-tipped lobes; they are glabrous (hairless), except for small but conspicuous tufts of hairs in the vein axils on the underside. The leaves turn dark red to brown in the autumn, stay on the tree throughout the winter, and fall as the new leaves bud in the spring.
Like all oaks, flowering and leaf-out occur in late spring when all frost danger has passed. The flowers are monoecious catkins which, being self-incompatible, require the presence of another oak for pollination.
The acorns are round, 9–14 millimeters (3⁄8–1⁄2 inch) long, maturing about 18 months after pollination. [2]
Twigs are deep red, 1–2 mm in diameter and glabrous. Terminal buds are red-brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5–5 mm, and glabrous or with scales somewhat ciliate. [3]
The bark is gray to light brown, scaly.
The Georgia oak is native to the southeastern United States, mainly in northern Georgia, but with additional populations in Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. [4] It grows on dry granite and sandstone outcrops of slopes of hills at 50–500 m (160–1,640 ft) altitude. [5] [2]
The tree was first discovered in 1849 at Stone Mountain, Georgia, where several stands of pure specimens grow along the popular walk-up trail at around 400 m (1,300 ft), near the large chestnut oak in the middle of the trail and before the rest pavilion halfway up the trail. [6] Georgia oaks are also found at nearby monadnocks, including Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain in Georgia.
It is occasionally cultivated as a specimen or garden tree in USDA plant hardiness zones 5–8. Besides landscape horticulture, the Georgia oak has no commercial uses.
Quercus montana, the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in southern Michigan. It is also sometimes called rock oak because of its presence in montane and other rocky habitats.
Quercus palustris, also called pin oak, swamp oak, or Spanish oak, is a tree in the red oak section of the genus Quercus. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance.
Quercus macrocarpa, the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, Quercus sect. Quercus, and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub oak. The acorns are the largest of any North American oak, and are important food for wildlife.
Quercus michauxii, the swamp chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak section Quercus section Quercus in the beech family. It is native to bottomlands and wetlands in the southeastern and midwestern United States, in coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, inland primarily in the Mississippi–Ohio Valley as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
Quercus laevis, the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the southeastern United States. The name turkey oak derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey's foot. A Turkish and southern European species Quercus cerris is also commonly referred to as Turkey oak, so Quercus laevis is sometimes referred to as American turkey oak to distinguish it from the European species.
Quercus agrifolia, the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen live oak native to the California Floristic Province. Live oaks are so-called because they keep living leaves on the tree all year, adding young leaves and shedding dead leaves simultaneously rather than dropping dead leaves en masse in the autumn like a true deciduous tree. Coast live oaks may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is generally a medium-sized tree. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section of oaks.
Quercus laurifolia is a medium-sized semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the southeastern and south-central the United States.
Quercus shumardii, the Shumard oak, spotted oak, Schneck oak, Shumard red oak, or swamp red oak, is one of the largest of the oak species in the red oak group. It is closely related to Quercus buckleyi, Quercus texana, and Quercus gravesii.
Quercus coccinea, the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section Lobatae of the genus Quercus, in the family Fagaceae.
Quercus engelmannii, the Engelmann oak or Pasadena oak, is a species of oak in the white oak section, native to southern California and northwestern Baja California, Mexico.
Quercus imbricaria, the shingle oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native primarily to the Midwestern and Upper South regions of North America.
Quercus lyrata, the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group. The common name, overcup oak, refers to its acorns that are mostly enclosed within the acorn cup. It is native to lowland wetlands in the eastern and south-central United States, in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, inland as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. There are historical reports of it growing in Iowa, but the species appears to have been extirpated there. It is a slow-growing tree that often takes 25 to 30 years to mature. It has an estimated lifespan of 400 years.
Quercus nigra, the water oak, is an oak in the red oak group, native to the eastern and south-central United States, found in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, and inland as far as Oklahoma, Kentucky, and southern Missouri. It occurs in lowlands and up to 450 meters in elevation.
Quercus texana, commonly known as Nuttall's oak, is a fast-growing, large deciduous oak tree.
Quercus durata, commonly known as leather oak, is a species of oak endemic to California, common in the Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The common name "leather oak" is derived from the leathery texture on the lop of its leaves. Taxonomically it is placed in the white oak group.
Quercus havardii is a deciduous, low-growing, thicket-forming shrub that occupies some two million to three million hectares in the southern Great Plains of North America. Clones may reach hundreds to thousands of years old, although aboveground stems typically live only 11 to 15 years. Shinnery oak stems are usually 1 to 2 metres tall and codominate the plant community with mid- and tall-grasses, which are usually taller than the oaks.
Quercus arizonica, the Arizona white oak, is a North American tree species in the beech family. It is found in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, and Durango.
Quercus myrtifolia, the myrtle oak, is a North American species of oak. It is native to the southeastern United States. It is often found in coastal areas on sandy soils.
Quercus pumila, the runner oak or running oak, is a species of oak. It is native to the southeastern United States.
Quercus castanea is a species of oak tree. It is widespread across much of Mexico, from Sonora to Chiapas, and in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
