Cherrybark oak | |
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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. pagoda |
Binomial name | |
Quercus pagoda | |
Range map | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
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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.
Size: Cherrybark oaks often attain heights of 30 to 40 meters (100 to 130 feet) and trunk diameters of 91 to 152 centimeters (36 to 60 inches), making it among the largest of the red oaks in the South. It is one of the hardiest and fastest growing oaks. It grows well on more sites[ citation needed ] than any other bottomland oaks except perhaps willow and water oaks. Diameter growth typically ranges from 7.6 to 15.2 cm (3 to 6 in) per decade. [3]
Bark: The name 'cherrybark' comes from its similarity to the bark of black cherry. The bark is gray and has scaly, narrow ridges. [3]
Foliage: The name pagoda refers to the tiered shape of cherrybark's leaves, which are reminiscent of the shape of a pagoda. Its simple, alternate leaves generally have V-shaped bases, deeply incised lobes (5 to 11), and short, broad, uncurved tips. The species is unusual in that the lobes are not necessarily paired on opposite sides of the leaf, instead appearing alternate or sometimes haphazard in arrangement. The leaves are 18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 in) long and up to 18 cm wide. Leaves are dark green, smooth, and shiny on the surface; undersides are paler and pubescent. [3]
Twigs: The twigs are thick and brown or gray, hairy when young. The buds are egg-shaped with a pointed tip, angular, and hairy. In some regions, the twigs commonly bear galls. [3]
Flowers: Cherrybark oak is monoecious; staminate and pistillate catkins are borne separately on the same tree. Catkins are borne on stalks from leaf axils of the current growth. Flowers appear from February to May, depending on latitude. [3]
Acorns: The acorn is about 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) long, globular or hemispheric, with up to one-third of its length enclosed in a shallow thin cap. Acorns per pound range from 200 to 750. Acorns mature from August to November of the second year. Trees begin bearing acorns when they are about 25 years old, and optimum production is reached when they are between 50 and 75 years of age. Good acorn crops are frequent, occurring at 1- or 2-year intervals, with light crops in intervening years. Acorns are dormant and do not germinate until the following spring. Germination is hypogeal. [3]
In the past, cherrybark oak was classified as a variety (Q. falcata var. pagodafolia) of southern red oak (Q. falcata). However, the two species are now recognized to significantly differ in several key morphological and ecological features. Cherrybark oak occurs on moist, bottomland sites, while southern red oak typically occurs in drier uplands sites with poor soil. Leaves of southern red oak generally have rounded (U-shaped) bases and fewer, more irregularly shaped lobes than cherrybark. The bark is distinctly different in cherrybark oak and southern red oak.
Cherrybark oak has a disjunct (discontinuous) distribution. It is common in the Carolinas and in the lower Mississippi Valley but rare in Georgia and Florida in between. There are also scattered, outlying populations as far north as New Jersey and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma. [4]
Cherrybark oak very often grows on the best loamy sites on first bottom ridges, well-drained terraces, and colluvial sites.
Many wildlife species use cherrybark acorns as a substantial part of their diets. Common species are the gray and fox squirrel, white-tailed deer, raccoon, and many birds (such as wild turkey, blue jay, wood duck, and common grackle).
Natural reproduction occurs on areas protected from fire and grazing. Being intolerant of shade, cherrybark oak requires full light for development, which in turn promotes heavy competition from herbs, vines, and brush. Seedling development is typically good in old fields with well-drained loamy soils.
Acorn supply is one of the principal determinants of the amount of natural cherrybark oak reproduction. Other factors include microclimate, soil properties, and stand variables. Seedling development is related to overhead release, with large openings needed.
Cherrybark oak is often found as individual trees in mixed stands, where it usually occurs in a dominant or codominant position. Sometimes it is found in groups where it dominates a stand. Cherrybark cannot tolerate suppression for very long. It is classed as intolerant of shade and probably becomes established only in openings.
Cherrybark oak hybridizes easily with willow oak (Q. phellos) producing the vigorous Louisiana oak, Quercus x Ludoviciana.
The cherrybark oak is slightly less cold resistant than the southern red oak.
Cherrybark oak usually has a relatively branch-free merchantable bole in contrast with other bottomland red oaks such as water and willow oak. Because of its good form and quality, cherrybark is regarded as one of the best red oaks. The wood is heavy, hard, and coarse grained. It is used for interior finishing, veneer, general construction, furniture, and cabinets. The color is light reddish brown.
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 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.
Quercus velutina, the black oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group, native and widespread in eastern and central North America. It is sometimes called the eastern black oak.
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 falcata, also called southern red oak, spanish oak, bottomland red oak or three-lobed red oak is an oak. Native to the southeastern United States, it gets its name the "Spanish Oak" as these are the areas of early Spanish colonies, whilst "southern red oak" comes from both its range and leaf color during late summer and fall. The southern red oak is a deciduous angiosperm, so has leaves that die after each growing period and come back in the next period of growth.
Quercus georgiana, the Georgia oak or Stone Mountain oak, is a rare deciduous red oak, native to the southeastern United States.
Quercus pubescens, commonly known as the downy oak, pubescent oak or Italian oak, is a species of white oak native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. It is found from northern Spain (Pyrenees) and France in the West to Turkey and the Caucasus in the East.
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 acutissima, the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Indochina and the Himalayas. It is widely planted in many lands and has become naturalized in parts of North America.
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.
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 ilicifolia, commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the Eastern United States and, less commonly, in southeastern Canada. Its range in the United States extends from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few populations north of the international frontier in Ontario. The name ilicifolia means "holly-leaved."
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 oblongifolia, commonly known as the Mexican blue oak, Arizona blue oak, Blue live oak or Sonoran blue oak, is an evergreen small tree or large shrub in the white oak group.
Quercus grisea, commonly known as the gray oak, shin oak or scrub oak, is a North American species deciduous or evergreen shrub or medium-sized tree in the white oak group. It is native to the mountains of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It hybridises with four other oak species where the ranges overlap, the Arizona white oak (Q. arizonica), the Gambel oak (Q. gambelii), the Mohr oak (Q. mohriana) and the sandpaper oak (Q. pungens).