Oaks of the World

General dataClassificationsList of speciesLocal namesBack to
home page

  Quercus coccinea
Author Muenchh. 1770 Hausvater 5: 254 1770.
Synonyms coccinea var. tuberculata Sargent 1922
coccinea var. rugelii A.DC 1864
repanda hort.
Local names scarlet oak
Range Eastern USA; to 1500 m; introduced in Europe in 1691;
Growth habit reaches 25 m tall; lower part of the trunk without dead wood;
Leaves 7-20 x 5-13 cm; oboval or oval; base truncate or slightly cuneate; 3-5 lobulate lobes each side of the midrib; lobes paired often unequally; terminal lobe more important (longer and/or larger); veins not always opposite, ending into bristle-tips; rather deep sinuses, widely rounded; lustrous dark green above, paler beneath with prominent whitish veins; both sides lustrous and glabrous except sometimes some brownish axillary tufts beneath; purplish at fall; petiole slender, hairless, yellow, 2.5-6 cm long;
Flowers in spring; male catkins 6-8 cm;
Fruits acorn sub-globulous or ovoid, 1.2-2.5 cm, red brown, rarely striate; sessile or short-stalked; enclosed 1/2 or 1/3 by cup; cup half-round, deep, thin-edged, shiny, often with warted scales; maturing in 2 years;

Bark, twigs and
buds

bark grey, warty, finely fissured into reddish inside scales; twigs red brown above, olive beneath, glabrous, angled, with lenticels; bud ovoid, pointed, hairy (Q. palustris has glabrous buds), with apically light red brown edged scales, 4-7 mm long;
Hardiness zone, habitat hardy; prefers acidic soils; fast growing;
Miscellaneous -- Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, Series Coccineae;
-- Different from other red oaks in the rounded sinuses and the large central lobe;
-- Hybridizes with Q.ilicifolia (= x
robbinsii), Q.velutina (= x fontana), Q.palustris ;

Subspecies and
varieties

-- cultivar 'Splendens' shows conspicuous autumn colors ; cultivated since 1893;
-- var. tuberculata has a strongly warty acorn cup;

 

Pictures