| Quercus nigra | |
| Author | L. 1753 |
| Synonyms | aquatica (Lam.)
Walt. 1788 hemisphaerica var. nana (Willd.) Sarg. 1895 microcarya Small 1901 nana Willd. 1805 nigra var. aquatica Lam. 1785 nigra f. microcarya (Small) Sarg. 1918 nigra var. tridentifera Sarg. 1918 nigra var. heterophylla (Ait.) Ashe uliginosa Wangenh. 1787 |
| Local names | water
oak ; possum oak ; |
| Range | Southeastern USA; 0 to 450 m; introduced in Europe in 1724; |
| Growth habit | reaches 25 m
tall; trunk slender; rounded crown; |
| Leaves | 4-13 x 2-5 cm;
variable in shape (sometimes entire, sometimes 2-3 shallow lobes near
apex, which is always wider than the base); base cuneate; rich green,
hairless adaxially; some axillary tufts of hairs beneath; falling late
winter; short hairless petiole (0.5 cm); |
| Flowers | staminate catkins
drooping, 5-8 cm long; |
| Fruits | acorn globose
1-1.5 cm in diameter; singly or paired; blackish with paler streaks; enclosed
1/4 to 1/3 by cup; cup shallow, broad, pubescent, red brown; maturing
in 2 years; |
|
Bark, twigs and |
bark
dark grey, smooth becoming sulcate; twigs dark brown, smooth, glabrescent;
buds brown, ovoid, tomentose; |
| Hardiness zone, habitat | hardy; prefers moist, even wet, limefree soils; fast-growing; lives up to 150 years; |
| Miscellaneous | --
A.Camus : n° 414; -- Sub-genus Quercus, section Lobatae, subsection Phellos; -- Related to Q.marilandica ; -- "nigra" after the blackish coulour of acorns and bark; -- Numerous hybrids, among them : x garlandensis E.J.Palmer with Q.falcata, x walteriana Ashe with Q.laevis, x sterilis Trel. with Q.marilandica, x capesii W.Wolf with Q.phellos, x neopalmeri Sudw. with Q.shumardii, x demarei Ashe with Q.velutina ; |
| Subspecies and varieties |
trees
with trilobed leaves and oblique base have been named "var. tridentifera"
by Sargent; |
| Pictures |
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