Scarlet oak

Quercus coccinea

''Quercus coccinea'', the scarlet oak, is an oak in the red oak section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. The scarlet oak can be mistaken for the pin oak, the black oak, or occasionally the red oak. On scarlet oak the sinuses between lobes are "C"-shaped in comparison to pin oak , which has "U"-shaped sinuses and the acorns are half covered by a deep cap.

Scarlet oak is mainly native to the central and eastern United States, from southern Maine west to Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, and south as far as Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. It occurs on dry, sandy, usually acidic soils. It is often an important canopy species in an oak-heath forest.
Scarlet Oak Acorn (Quercus coccinea) Growing at the edge of a dense mixed forest. This oak tree has beautiful scarlet foliage in the fall and tends to drop its leaves very late. I hope to get some shots before they have fully dropped! Note one of the identifying features here: concentric rings around the apex of the acorn! https://www.jungledragon.com/image/87276/scarlet_oak_leaf_quercus_coccinea.html Fall,Geotagged,Quercus coccinea,Scarlet oak,United States

Appearance

''Quercus coccinea'' is a medium-large deciduous tree growing to 20–30 m tall with an open, rounded crown.

The leaves are glossy green, 7–17 cm long and 8–13 cm broad, lobed, with seven lobes, and deep sinuses between the lobes. Each lobe has 3–7 bristle-tipped teeth. The leaf is hairless . The common English name is derived from the autumn coloration of the foliage, which generally becomes bright scarlet; in contrast, pin oak foliage generally turns bronze in autumn.

The acorns are ovate, 7–13 mm broad and 17–31 mm long, a third to a half covered in a deep cup, green maturing pale brown about 18 months after pollination; the kernel is very bitter.
Scarlet Oak Leaf (Quercus coccinea) Growing at the edge of a dense mixed forest. This oak tree has beautiful scarlet foliage in the fall and tends to drop its leaves very late. I hope to get some shots before they have fully dropped! Note one of the identifying features here: concentric rings around the apex of the acorn! https://www.jungledragon.com/image/87275/scarlet_oak_acorn_quercus_coccinea.html Fall,Geotagged,Quercus coccinea,Scarlet oak,United States

Uses

Scarlet oak is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree, popular for its bright red fall color. The cultivar 'Splendens' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderFagales
FamilyFagaceae
GenusQuercus
SpeciesQ. coccinea
Photographed in
United States of America