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Quercus taxonomy
Quercus falcata Michx.
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More info for the term: tree
Southern red oak is a medium- to large-sized native deciduous tree with
a long, straight trunk and upward-reaching branches that form a high
rounded crown. It lives to about 150 years [4]. Cherrybark oak is
distinguished from southern red oak by its broadly wedge-shaped
instead of rounded leaf bases and by lobes which are rarely falcate and
more nearly at right angles to the midrib than southern red oak.
Cherrybark oak also tends to have a longer branch-free trunk [11]. It
is one of the hardiest and fastest growing red oaks [25].
Cherrybark is the larger of the two species, reaching 100 to 130 feet
(30-40 m) in height and 36 to 60 inches (91-152 cm) in d.b.h. Southern
red oak is usually 70 to 80 feet (20-25 m) tall and 24 to 36
inches (60-90 cm) in d.b.h., but it can be larger on good sites [4,25].
The taproot of southern red oak dies back and sinker roots from laterals
take over the vertical root function [25].
More info for the terms: competition, hypogeal, monoecious, root crown
Sexual: Southern red and cherrybark oaks are monoecious. Seed production
begins when trees are about 25 years old with maximum production occurring between
age 50 and 75. Good crops occur at 1- to 2-year intervals [4,25].
Dissemination is primarily by squirrels and blue jays which transport
and cache acorns. Abandoned agricultural fields in Mississippi had a
high stocking rate of cherrybark oak seedlings because of caching by
blue jays. The blue jays appear to search out cherrybark acorns because
of the ease with which the shell is broken and because the acorns are
within a desirable size range for transporting [9]. Floodwaters will
also transport cherrybark oak acorns. Gravity is an important
dissemination process for southern red oak since it often grows on
steep slopes [4,25].
Germination is hypogeal. Cool, moist stratification is necessary for
best germination [4,25]. Cherrybark oak begins germination at the
stratification temperature if stratification continues for more than 30
to 45 days. However, epicotyl emergence does not occur at the
stratification temperature. Both species have a high germinative
capacity [42].
Seedlings grow well in full light [4,25,44]. Cherrybark oak seedlings
seem unaffected by root competition from overstory trees [22].
Complete inundation of first-year cherrybark seedlings for 3 to 4 days
in June resulted in substantial mortality (only 12.8 percent survived
compared to 89.7 percent of unflooded seedlings). In the same study,
seedlings survived 3 months of continuous soil saturation during the
growing season without statistically significant growth reductions [22].
However, in a study conducted by Hosner and Boyce [18], 15-, 30-, and
60-day periods of complete soil saturation resulted in 11.1, 46.7, and
86.7 percent mortality respectively for cherrybark oak seedlings that
averaged 11 inches (27.9 cm) in height. Mortality occurred because
roots died, and no new roots were formed.
Cherrybark seedlings do not grow well beneath a cherrybark canopy in
part because salicylic acid, a phytotoxin, leaches from its leaves
[15,25,49].
Vegetative: Both species sprout from the root crown if top-killed.
Sprouting is most prevalent in young trees 10 inches (25.4 cm) or less
in diameter [4]. A sprout from a top-killed seedling grows faster than
a true seedling [2,28].
More info for the term: swamp
southern red oak
cherrybark oak
bottomland red oak
swamp red oak
swamp Spanish oak
Elliott oak
Trees , deciduous, to 30 m. Bark dark brown to black, narrowly fissured with scaly ridges, inner bark orange. Twigs reddish brown, (1-)1.5-3.5(-4.5) mm diam., pubescent. Terminal buds light reddish brown, ovoid, 4-8 mm, puberulent throughout. Leaves: petiole 20-60 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent. Leaf blade ovate to elliptic or obovate, 100-300 × 60-160 mm, base rounded or U-shaped, margins with 3-7 deep lobes and 6-20 awns, terminal lobe often long-acuminate, much longer than lateral lobes, apex acute; surfaces abaxially sparsely to uniformly tawny-pubescent, adaxially glossy and glabrous or puberulent along midrib, secondary veins raised on both surfaces. Acorns biennial; cup saucer-shaped to cup-shaped, 3-7 mm high × 9-18 mm wide, covering 1/3-1/2 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent, scale tips tightly appressed, acute; nut subglobose, 9-16 × 8-15 mm, often striate, puberulent, scar diam. 5-10 mm.
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More info on this topic.
More info for the term: phanerophyte
Phanerophyte
The currently accepted scientific name for southern red oak is Quercus
falcata Michx. [4,27]. Cherrybark oak was once classified as a variety
of southern red oak [4,27]. It is now classified as a distinct species,
Quercus pagoda Raf. [60,61]. The leaves of southern red oak are polymorphic [49].
Cherrybark oak is distinguished from southern red oak by leaf shape and vast
differences in site preference [11].
Southern red oak and cherry bark oak hybridize with the following species [27]:
x Q. ilicifolia (bear oak): Q. X. caesariensis Moldenke
x Q. imbricaria (shingle oak): Q. X. anceps Palmer
x Q. incana (bluejack oak): Q. X. subintegra Trel.
x Q. laevis (turkey oak): Q. X. blufftonensis Trel.
x Q. laurifolia (laurel oak): Q. X. beaumontiana Sarg.
x Q. nigra (water oak): Q. X. garlandensis Palmer
x Q. phellos (willow oak): Q. X. ludoviciana Sarg.
x Q. velutina (black oak): Q. X. wildenowiana (Dipple) Zabel, Q. X.
pinetorum Moldenke
x Q. marilandica
Quercus digitata Sudworth; Q. falcata Michaux var. triloba (Michaux) Nuttall
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More info for the term: tree
Tree
Quercus falcata Michx. var. falcata
Quercus falcata var. pagodifolia Ell. [27]
Quercus falcata var. triloba (Michx.) Nutt.
Quercus falcata var. leucophylla (Ashe) Palmer & Steyermark
Quercus pagodifolia (Ell.) Ashe
Quercus rubra var. pagodifolia (Ell.) Ashe
Southern red oak occurs on dry, upland sites to
about 2,000 feet (610 m) in elevation. It is often found on south- and
west-facing slopes or on dry ridgetops. It grows on sandy, loamy, or
clay soils, most commonly on Ultisols and Alfisols [4]. Southern red
oak does well on calcareous soils, and in Florida it often grows in
shallow sandy soils overlying limestone deposits [33].
Cherrybark oak occurs along large and small streams of the coastal
plains and the Mississippi Valley [25]. It occurs on better drained
portions of floodplains, on bottomlands, and on their margins to about
820 feet (250 m) in elevation [11]. Cherrybark oak also grows on
well-drained hammocks within wet flats. It is sometimes found on mesic
sites on the rolling hills of the lower Piedmont and on coastal plain
uplands. It grows primarily on Alfisols and Inceptisols [25].
Cherrybark oak is weakly tolerant of flooding [1]. It grows best under
a regime of winter and spring flooding; soil saturation in the winter
only; and a water table depth of 2 to 6 feet (0.6-1.8 m) during the
growing season. A water table depth of less than 1 foot ( less than 0.3 m) or
more than 10 feet (>3 m) is unsuitable during the growing season, as is
continous flooding [3]. Sites that meet these conditions are often the
highest and best drained locations in active floodplains including loamy
sites of first bottoms, well-drained terraces and colluvial sites, and
second bottoms.
In addition to those species mentioned in Distribution and Occurrence,
common overstory associates of southern red oak include scarlet oak
(Quercus coccinea), sweetgum, blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), hickory (Carya
spp.), and pitch pine (Pinus rigida) [4].
Common overstory associates of cherrybark oak include shagbark hickory
(Carya ovata), shellbark hickory (C. laciniosa), mockernut hickory (C.
tomentosa), bitternut hickory (C. cordiformis), and white ash (Fraxinus
americana). Less frequent associates include sweetgum, blackgum,
shingle oak, willow oak, water oak, Delta post oak (Q. stellata var.
paludosa), Shumard oak (Q. shumardii), water hickory (Carya aquatica),
nutmeg hickory (C. myristiciformis), spruce pine (Pinus glabra),
American elm (Ulmus americana), winged elm (U. alata), American beech
(Fagus grandifolia), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), and
yellow-poplar [25].