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Quercus taxonomy
Quercus texana Buckley
EOL Text
Nuttall oak is a chief component of the forest cover type Sweetgum-Willow Oak (Society of American Foresters Type 92) (8). Water oak replaces willow oak (Q. phellos) in the southernmost part of the type's range. The species is found in five other types: Sugarberry-American Elm-Green Ash (Type 93), Sycamore-Sweetgum-American Elm (Type 94), Overcup Oak-Water Hickory (Type 96), Baldcypress (Type 101), and Baldcypress-Tupelo (Type 102).
Other trees associated with Nuttall oak are cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), bur oak (Q. macrocarpa), red and silver maple (Acer rubrum and A. saccharinum), black willow (Salix nigra), honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), and persimmon (Diospyros virginiana).
Noncommercial tree and shrub associates are roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), swamp-privet (Forestiera acuminata), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), and water-elm (Planera aquatica) (24).
Acorn weevils (Curculio spp.) can reduce acorn germination by causing damage to developing acorns. The carpenterworm (Prionoxystus robinise) causes heavy damage to Nuttall oak. Other borers that cause timber defects are the red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus), the white oak borer (Goes tigrinus), others of the genus Goes, the oak sapling borer (G. tesselatus), and the hardwood stump borer (Stenodontes dasytomus). The clearwing borer (Paranthrene simulans) creates an entry point for rot and stain fungi, causing additional defects. Estimated loss from borer defects in oak lumber is approximately $40 million per year (25). Other borers infect twigs, branches and roots, reducing growth and vigor, but do no damage to the merchantable parts of the tree.
A serious insect-caused defect in Nuttall oak lumber is bark pocket caused by the sap-feeding beetles (nitidulids) in combination with the carpenterworm and several other borers (22). Periodic outbreaks of defoliating insects such as basswood leafminer (Baliosus nervosus) and pink striped oakworm (Anisota virginiensis) retard growth rates of oaks over large geographical areas (26).
Nuttall oak is subject to attack by three important canker rot fungi. All enter the trunk through dead branch stubs by germination of airborne spores. The cambium is killed, rough cankers are induced around the entry point, and the heartwood is decayed. The resulting cankers are called hispidus, spiculosa, or Irpex, depending on the causal fungi-Polyporus hispidus, Poria spiculosa, and Spongipellis pachyodon respectively (21). Nuttall oak growing north of 35° latitude may be killed by oak wilt (Ceratocystis fagacearum). Daily temperatures above 30° C (86° F) reduce development of the disease (20).
Anthracnose (Gnomonia quercina) and Actinopelte leaf spot (Actinopelte dryina) cause defoliation in some years (26).
Nuttall oak is classed as intolerant of shade; seedlings survive and grow rapidly only in openings. The tree is almost always dominant or codominant (13,14,16).
No information available.
Flowering spring.
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Methods for propagating Nuttall oak from cuttings or by grafting have not been developed. When attempted, air-layering has not been successful (2). Stumps of small trees sprout readily, but those of older trees do not.
Nuttall oak seeds require 60 to 90 days cold stratification. They overwinter and germinate in the spring when soil temperatures are 21° to 32° C (70° to 90° F) (27). Seed germination percentages average 60 to 90 percent but germination varies by size and may be reduced by acorn weevil damage. Larger acorns had somewhat higher germination rates than smaller ones. The percent of germination was unaffected even when seeds were submerged in water for as long as 34 days (5). Germination is hypogeal (27). The best natural seedbed for most Nuttall oaks is a moist soil, covered with an inch or more of soil or leaf litter with partial shade (12).
Although rodents, turkeys, deer, and hogs eat many of the seeds, natural reproduction in the bottom lands is usually abundant. Seedlings are often killed by high water during the growing season, but seedling survival, date of budbreak, or height growth are not significantly affected. When grown in saturated soil for 16 weeks in winter and spring (3), Nuttall oak seedlings become established both in the open or in shade, and can survive 5 to 10 years in the shade (15). Strong tap roots are developed (13). Mycorrhizal roots were common on seedlings growing in green-tree reservoir plots (9).
Nuttall oak grows on bottom lands along the Gulf Coastal Plain from Florida west to southeastern Texas. North in the Mississippi Valley, it is found in Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Missouri, and western Tennessee, it develops best on the alluvial bottom lands of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
-The native range nuttall oak.
Young trees about 20 years old produced good seed crops for several years at Stoneville, MS; this is probably the age at which optimum seed-bearing begins. In the TVA arboretum at Norris, TN, 5-year-old trees bore acorns. There are generally good seed crops every 3 or 4 years, and the average tree yields 6 to 35 kg (13 to 77 lb) of clean nuts in 9 to 53 liters (0.25 to 1.5 bushels). The nuts average 209/kg (95/lb) (27). Water, rodents, and birds disseminate the seed.
Fagaceae -- Beech family
T. H. Filer, Jr.
Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii), not distinguished as a species until 1927, is also called red oak, Red River oak, and pin oak. It is one of the few commercially important species found on poorly drained clay flats and low bottoms of the Gulf Coastal Plain and north in the Mississippi and Red River Valleys. The acorn or winter buds identify Nuttall oak, easily confused with pin oak (Q. palustris). The lumber is often cut and sold as red oak. In addition to producing timber, Nuttall oak is an important species for wildlife management because of heavy annual mast production.