Quercus michauxii

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Swamp chestnut oak
Swampchestnutoak3.JPG
A mature swamp chestnut oak
QuercusMichauxiiLeaf.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Quercus
Section: Quercus sect. Quercus
Species:
Q. michauxii
Binomial name
Quercus michauxii
Quercus michauxii range map 1.png
Natural range of Quercus michauxii
Synonyms [2]
  • Quercus bicolor var. michauxii(Nutt.) Chapm.
  • Quercus bicolor subsp. michauxii(Nutt.) Sarg.
  • Quercus houstoniana C.H.Mull.

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. [3]

Contents

Description

The leaves of the swamp chestnut oak are simple (not compound), 4–11 inches (10–28 centimetres) long and 2–7 in (5–18 cm) broad, with 15–20 lobe-like, rounded simple teeth on each side, similar to those of chestnut oak and chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), although they generally do not achieve the more slender form that the leaves of those trees may exhibit at times. The leaves turn red in autumn. The fruit is an acorn 2.5–3.5 cm (1–1+12 in) long and 2–2.5 cm (34–1 in) broad, borne on a 2–3 cm peduncle, maturing in the fall, about 6 months after pollination. [4] The tree only bears heavy acorn crops at intervals of several years. [5]

Taxonomy

The swamp chestnut oak closely resembles the chestnut oak (Quercus montana), and for that reason has sometimes been treated as a variety of that species. However, the swamp chestnut oak is a larger tree which differs in preferred habitat, and the bark does not have the distinctive deep, rugged ridging of the chestnut oak, being thinner, scaly, and paler gray. It typically grows to around 65 ft (20 m) tall, though the tallest specimen currently known is over 150 ft (42 m) tall.

The name Q. prinus was long used by many botanists and foresters for the swamp chestnut oak, even when treated as a species distinct from the chestnut oak, which was then called Q. montana, but the application of the name Q. prinus to the chestnut oak is now often accepted, [6] although sometimes that name is declared to be of uncertain position, unassignable to either species, with the chestnut oak then called Q. montana, as in the Flora of North America. [7]

Ecology

The acorns of the swamp chestnut oak are eaten by generalist species like chipmunks, squirrels, white-tail deer, wild hogs, and black bears. [8] They are also readily eaten by cattle, [5] and the species is sometimes called the "cow oak" for this reason. [9]

Uses

The wood of the swamp chestnut oak is similar to, and usually marketed mixed with, that of other white oaks.[ citation needed ] Swamp chestnut oak is also called basket oak, since the wood is easily split into long, thin, flexible strips excellent for basket weaving. [10] The swamp chestnut oak's acorns are large, relatively sweet, [5] and edible. [9]

The swamp chestnut oak is sometimes cultivated as a large garden tree or street tree, and is quite easy to grow if it is not subject to extreme urban conditions. The current National Champion Swamp Chestnut Oak is in the Stumpy Lake area in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is 123 ft (37 m) high, with a crown of 109 ft (33 m) and a circumference of 23 ft (7 m). [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Quercus montana</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus palustris</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus muehlenbergii</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus muehlenbergii, the chinquapinoak, is a deciduous species of tree in the white oak group. The species was often called Quercus acuminata in older literature. Quercus muehlenbergii is native to eastern and central North America. It ranges from Vermont to Minnesota, south to the Florida panhandle, and west to New Mexico in the United States. In Canada it is only found in southern Ontario, and in Mexico it ranges from Coahuila south to Hidalgo.

<i>Quercus bicolor</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus bicolor, the swamp white oak, is a North American species of medium-sized trees in the beech family. It is a common element of America's north central and northeastern mixed forests. It can survive in a variety of habitats. It forms hybrids with bur oak where they occur together in the wild.

<i>Quercus macrocarpa</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus laevis</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus laurifolia</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus phellos</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus phellos, the willow oak, is a North American species of a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the south-central and eastern United States.

<i>Quercus berberidifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae

Quercus berberidifolia, the California scrub oak, is a small evergreen or semi-evergreen shrubby oak in the white oak section of Quercus. It is a native of the scrubby hills of California, and is a common member of chaparral ecosystems.

<i>Quercus imbricaria</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus lyrata</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus nigra</i> Species of oak tree

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.

<i>Quercus dumosa</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus dumosa is a species of plant in the family Fagaceae, belonging to the white oak section of the oak genus (Quercus). This tree goes by the common names coastal sage scrub oak and Nuttall's scrub oak.

<i>Quercus prinoides</i> Species of plant

Quercus prinoides, commonly known as dwarf chinkapin oak, dwarf chinquapin oak, dwarf chestnut oak or scrub chestnut oak, is a shrubby, clone-forming oak native to central-eastern North America.

<i>Quercus vacciniifolia</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus vacciniifolia, the huckleberry oak, is a member of the Protobalanus section of genus Quercus. It has evergreen foliage, short styles, very bitter acorns that mature in 18 months, and a woolly acorn shell interior.

<i>Quercus pagoda</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus pagoda, the cherrybark oak, is one of the most highly valued red oaks in the southern United States. It is larger and better formed than southern red oak and commonly grows on more moist sites. Its strong wood and straight form make it an excellent timber tree. Many wildlife species use its acorns as food, and cherrybark oak makes a fine shade tree. Cherrybark oak was formerly considered to be a subspecies of southern red oak, Quercus falcata, subsp pagodifolia.

<i>Quercus palmeri</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus palmeri is a species of oak known by the common name Palmer oak, or Palmer's oak. It is native to California, Baja California, Southern Nevada, and in Arizona through the transition zone to the eastern Mogollon Rim, where it grows in canyons, mountain slopes, washes, and other dry habitats.

<i>Quercus turbinella</i> Species of plant

Quercus turbinella is a North American species of oak known by the common names shruboak, turbinella oak, shrub live oak, and gray oak. It is native to Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada in the western United States. It also occurs in northern Mexico.

<i>Quercus incana</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus incana is a species of oak known by the common names bluejack oak, upland willow oak, sandjack oak, and cinnamon oak. It is native to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the United States, from Virginia around Florida to Texas and inland to Oklahoma and Arkansas.

<i>Quercus similis</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus similis, the swamp post oak or bottomland post oak, is an oak species native to the southeastern and south-central United States. The greatest concentration of populations is in Louisiana and Arkansas, Mississippi, and eastern Texas, with isolated population in Missouri, Alabama, and the Coastal Plain of Georgia and South Carolina.

References

  1. Kenny, L.; Wenzell , K. (2015). "Quercus michauxii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T194196A2303665. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194196A2303665.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Quercus michauxii Nutt.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. "Quercus michauxii". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  4. Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus michauxii". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. 1 2 3 Kirkman; Brown; Leopold (2007). Native Trees of the Southeast. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 182–183.
  6. The confusion arose from differing identifications of the type specimens for the Linnaean name, by some (but not all) botanists considered resolved by close examination of the leaf pubescence, which differs in the two species.
  7. Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus montana". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  8. Moore, Lincoln (5 February 2002). "Swamp Chestnut Oak" (PDF). USDA Plants. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  9. 1 2 Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 398. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  10. Missouri Department of Conservation, Field Guide, Swamp Chestnut Oak
  11. "Swamp Chestnut Oak National Champion". City of VB. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2020.