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Compare sources for Quercus lyrata

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Field
Oaks of the World
The Sibley Guide to Trees
Common Names
overcup oak, swamp post oak
Overcup Oak, Swamp Post Oak, Swamp White Oak, Water White Oak
Geographic Range

Southeastern United States, from New Jersey to Texas; 0-200 m ; introduced in Europe in 1786;

Growth Habit

15-25 m ; crown rounded, with numerous branches; trunk short, often tortuous;

Deciduous, small to medium crooked tree usually under 60’. Closely related to macrocarpa.

Leaves

10-20 x 4-10 cm; oboval, lyre-shaped; apex pointed or obtuse; base cuneate attenuate; 3-5 pairs of lobes, very shallow near base; dark green, hairless obove; silvery tomentose beneath at first, becoming more or less glabrescent; 5-8 vein pairs; petiole 1 to 2.5 cm long, slender, orangish yellow;

  • 5 1/2”
  • variable shape, often three equal squarish lobes at leaf tip, broad sinuses at midleaf, narrow base
  • underleag whitish when young, becoming green, sometimes hairy
Fruits (Acorns)

acorn 2.5-5 cm long, subglobose, minutely puberulent; singly or paired; almost all covered by scaly, subsessile cup; maturing in 1 year; cotyledons distinct;

  • 1”
  • cup enclosing almost entire nut
  • stalk to 1 1/2”
  • flaots on water

note immature acorns of other oaks are enclosed by cup, but much smaller

Twigs

gray-brown

Buds

small grayish

Hardiness & Habitat

hardy; prefers moist soils; slow-growing;

  • Common in swamp forests, periodically inundated. especially in bottomlannds of lower Mississippi Valley
  • Uncommon in cultivation
  • Zones 5-9
Additional Information

– A. Camus : n° 277 ; – Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Subsection Prinoideae; – Hybrids with Q.virginiana (= x comptoniae ), bicolor (= x humidicola ), macrocarpa (= x megaleia ), stellata (= x sterrettii) , michauxii (= x tottenii) ;