Quercus bicolor Willd.  

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Look Alikes:

Many oaks in the white oak group and Quercus robur have highly variable, similar leaves with rounded lobes. Quercus alba often has deeply lobed leaves, light gray bark usually with smooth patches, and an acorn cup covered with warty scales. Quercus lyrata has leaves that are inversely egg-shaped with irregular, rounded lobes, and an acorn cup that nearly covers the nut. Quercus macrocarpa has deeply lobed leaves that are inversely egg-shaped and hairy beneath, often corky-ridged twigs, and an acorn cup with long fringes along the margin. Quercus robur has very short-stalked leaves with ear-like lobes at the base, and a long-stalked acorn cup.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorHipp, Andrew, Hipp, Andrew, Oaks of the Americas
Sourcehttp://quercus.lifedesks.org/pages/548

Immediate Effect of Fire:

More info for the terms: swamp, top-kill

Severe fires can top-kill swamp white oak [33]. Moderate fires may kill
seedlings and saplings, but older trees usually survive. Fire-damaged
surviving trees are susceptible to disease and insect attack.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
Rights holder/AuthorUS Forest Service Fire Effects Information Service
Sourcehttp://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/quebic/all.html

Flowering and Fruiting:

Swamp white oak is monoecious;  male and female flowers appear on the same tree in the spring at  about the time leaves are one-third developed (May to June). The  fruit, an acorn, matures in 1 year and is generally paired and  home on slender stalks from 3 to 8 cm (1.25 to 3.25 in) long. The  ovoid acorns, each 19 to 32 mm (0.75 to 1.25 in) long and 13 to  19 min (0.5 to 0.75 in) in diameter, fall during September and   October.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorRobert Rogers, Silvics of North America
Sourcehttp://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/quercus/bicolor.htm

Special Uses:

The acorns are sweet, like others in the white oak group, and are  eaten by squirrels and other rodents (9). In a study in  Wisconsin, swamp white oak acorns were found to make up 27  percent of the diet of wild ducks. Several nongame bird species  include these acorns in their diet (4).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorRobert Rogers, Silvics of North America
Sourcehttp://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/quercus/bicolor.htm

Fagaceae -- Beech family

    Robert Rogers

    Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) is a mediumsized tree of  the north central and northeastern mixed forests. It is found in  lowlands, along edges of streams, and in swamps subject to  flooding. It is rapid growing and long lived, reaching 300 to 350  years. The hard strong wood is commercially valuable and is  usually cut and sold as white oak. Many kinds of wildlife eat the  acorns, particularly ducks.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorRobert Rogers, Silvics of North America
Sourcehttp://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/quercus/bicolor.htm

Range and Habitat in Illinois:

The native Swamp White Oak is occasional in most areas of Illinois, except in the NW section of the state, where it is rare or absent (see Distribution Map). Habitats include floodplain woodlands, edges of swamps, borders of streams, sloughs, poorly drained upland flats, and edges of vernal pools in wooded areas. Swamp White Oak is found with miscellaneous deciduous trees in poorly drained areas, including Green Ash, American Elm, Red Maple, Silver Maple, American Sycamore, Eastern Cottonwood, Pin Oak, Bur Oak, Shellbark Hickory, Sweet Gum, Black Gum, and Black Willow. Sometimes Swamp White Oak is cultivated as a landscape tree in parks and residential areas.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty
Sourcehttp://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/swwh_oak.html

Post-fire Regeneration:

off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
survivor species; on-site surviving root crown

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
Rights holder/AuthorUS Forest Service Fire Effects Information Service
Sourcehttp://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/quebic/all.html

Growth and Yield:

On the better drained lowland soils, the  growth rate of swamp white oak is comparable to that of white  oak. The root system is usually shallow, but the tree is  relatively long lived-up to 300 years or more. Normally it is a  mediumsized tree, 18 to 23 in (60 to 75 ft) in height and 61 to  91 cm (24 to 36 in) d.b.h., although trees up to 30 in (100 ft)  tall and 213 cm (84 in) d.b.h. have been reported.

    Swamp white oak normally grows in mixtures with other bottom-land  species and is abundant only locally. Individual old growth trees  may contain as much net volume as 3.4 m³ (600 fbm) but this  is uncommon (4).

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorRobert Rogers, Silvics of North America
Sourcehttp://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_2/quercus/bicolor.htm

Uses:

Industry: The wood of swamp white oak is light brown, close-grained, heavy, and hard. It is similar to that of white oak (Q. alba) and usually is cut and sold under that name, but the amount of lumbered swamp white oak is a small fraction of the total for ‘white oak.’ Also, because the lateral branches of swamp white oak tend to persist (compared to white oak), the wood is knottier and less valuable. The wood is used for furniture, cabinets, veneers, interior finishing, and flooring, as well as for boxes, crates, fence posts, railroad ties, and beams and boards for general construction. As in white oak, the wood provides tight cooperage and was once widely used in making barrels and kegs.

Conservation: Swamp white oak is planted on highway rights-of-way and is frequently used as a shade tree for large lawns, golf courses, parks, and naturalized areas. The crown shape and bi-colored leaves (dark above, lighter beneath) are attractive features; fall color is yellow, with occasional red-purple. The trees can grow well in areas that are dry, poorly drained and wet, or even occasionally flooded, and they will tolerate significant soil compaction.

Wildlife: Trees of swamp white oak provide cover for birds and mammals. The acorns are sweet and are an important food for wildlife such as squirrels, mice, white-tailed deer, beaver, black bear, and a variety of birds, including ducks and turkey.

Ethnobotanic: Native Americans and pioneers have eaten the acorns raw or cooked. They have been ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. Roasted acorns have been ground and used as a coffee substitute. Bitterness of the tannins is removed by leaching in running water.

Oak galls, caused by the activity of the larvae of various insects, can be used as a source of tannin and dye. They also are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of hemorrhages, chronic diarrhea, and dysentery. Some Native Americans used swamp white oak to treat cholera, broken bones, and consumption. Mulch of the dead leaves is reported to repel slugs, grubs, and various insects.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Rights holder/AuthorMatthew D. Hurteau, Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o, Environmental Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database
Sourcehttp://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/doc/cs_qubi.doc

Description:

This tree is typically 60-80' tall at maturity, developing a straight trunk about 2-3½' across and an ovoid to obovoid crown. In open sunny areas, the trunk is shorter and the crown is more broad, while in forested areas the trunk is longer and the crown is more narrow. Depending on the maturity of a tree, trunk bark is brown, gray-brown, or gray, rough-textured, and developing either irregular furrows with flat ridges or large flaky scales. Branch bark is similar to trunk bark, but more smooth, while the smooth twigs are brown or gray, smooth, and covered with scattered white lenticels. Alternate leaves about 4-7" long and 2½-4½" across occur along the twigs and young shoots. They are usually obovate (less often broadly elliptic) with 4-8 pairs of lobes along their margins. These lobes are shallow to moderately deep and they are either rounded or taper to blunt tips. The sinuses between the lobes are concave or bluntly cleft. The upper leaf surface is medium to dark green and glabrous, while the lower surface is whitish green to white and densely covered with short white hairs that are stellate and fine-textured. The leaf texture is rather leathery and stiff. The petioles are ½-1" long, light green or light yellow, and either glabrous or short-pubescent. Swamp White Oak is monoecious, producing separate male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are produced along drooping catkins about 2-4" long; the male flowers are sparsely distributed along these catkins in small clusters. Each male flower (about 1/8" in length) consists of several stamens that are embedded within hairy floral bracts. The female flowers are produced from the axils of leaves in clusters of 2-4. Each female flower (about 1/8" in length) consists of an ovary with usually 3 stigmata; it is embedded within an involucre consisting of hairy floral scales. The blooming period occurs from mid- to late-spring and lasts about 1-2 weeks. The flowers are cross-pollinated by wind. Afterwards, fertile female flowers develop into acorns that become ¾-1" long and ½-¾" across at maturity during the autumn of the same year. Usually, only 1-2 acorns develop near the tip of a long peduncle about ½-4" long, while the pedicel of each acorn is very short (less than 1/8" long). The cup of a mature acorn is tan-colored or light gray, while its body is brown; the cup extends to about one-third of the length of an acorn.  The scales of the cup are somewhat recurved and pointed, rather than appressed together. The white acorn meat is relatively sweet and edible. The woody root system is shallow to moderately deep and widely spreading. During the autumn, the deciduous leaves become brownish yellow, sometimes with patches of orange and red.

Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Rights holder/AuthorCopyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty
Sourcehttp://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/swwh_oak.html
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith