Mystery Plant! ...answer at bottom of essay...

Okeydokey. This week we are looking at an oak species, one that is native here in the Southeastern states. Now, oaks are all contained within the genus Quercus, and as a group number about 400 species worldwide: we have about 100 in North America. Botanists have rather conveniently divided the genus up into three subgroups, based on various characters such as the way the bark looks, features of the acorn cup and how long the acorn takes to mature, and aspects of the hairiness on the stems and leaves.

In the the Southeast, we have plenty of examples of two of these groups, the “red” oaks and the “white” oaks. (The third subgroup occurs in the western USA and Mexico, not around here.) Most oak species develop into tree-sized individuals, but there are some that are shrubby, scarcely above 2-3 feet tall.

This particular species is most often as a small tree at maturity, usually not getting any taller than about 40 foot high. It occurs in a broad area, from New Jersey well into the Midwest, south to lower Texas and the Florida panhandle. It is one of the “red” oaks, and thus features tiny bristles on the tips of young leaves, as well as acorns which remain on the tree for two seasons before falling. (Species in the “white” oak group lack leaf bristles, and their acorns mature in one season.) This time of year, of course, nearly all of its leaves are on the ground, as it is a deciduous species.

Mature examples of this species commonly have an irregularly shaped crown, and I’ve often noticed that the crowns frequently have a lot of dead, persisting branches hanging on. In very “poor” sites it may be a somewhat stunted plant, and more like a big bush than a tree. The bark is roughly fissured and very dark (nearly black), and its wood is quite hard, tough and durable. Because of the irregular crown, though, and its slow growth, this oak is not very important for timber or lumber. Its wood has been used rather unglamorously for fence posts and railroad ties (in the olden days), and as a source of charcoal. Unfortunately, perhaps, this species isn’t going to be winning many beauty contests, nor does it seem to have become popular for landscaping. After all, it’s one of a series of species that most people refer to as “scrub” oaks, growing in poor upland soils, in what most people would think are rather desperate, hardscrabble habitats.

On the other hand, these trees have plenty of their own peculiar charm. There are several large examples persisting in yards around my neighborhood, which is indeed an urbanized sandhill ecosystem. The trees look quite a bit different from their relatives, and given enough time, can exhibit a sort of bold, craggy look. The leaves are especially handsome, and somewhat unusual for oaks. The leaf blades are prominently widened toward the tip, usually exhibiting three (sometimes five) broadly rounded humps or “shoulders.” The leaves are relatively thick and sturdy, and because of this, they tend to remain on the ground intact, rather than crumbling as many other oaks’ dried leaves do during the winter. The lower surface of the leaf blade is somewhat dull, soft and felty, but the upper surface of the living leaves, fully expanded, is a bright, lustrous green.

John Nelson is the retired curator of the A.C. Moore erbarium at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia SC 29208. As a public service, the herbarium offers free plant identifications. For more information, visit www.herbarium.org or call 803-777-8196, or email nelson@sc.edu.

[Answer: “Blackjack oak,” Quercus marilandica]

Taken on: January 11, 2007

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Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX P4
Aperture:	f/5.4
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/222)
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