swamp chestnut oak Fagaceae Quercus
michauxii Nutt.
symbol: QUMI
Leaf: Alternate, simple, obovate, 4 to 8 inches long, 3 to 5 inches wide, margin with large round blunt teeth, dark green and shiny above, pale and downy below.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male flowers are yellow-green long catkins (2 to 4 inches long); females are green to reddish, very small in leaf axils, appearing in mid-spring with the leaves.
Fruit: Acorn, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, chestnut brown, bowl-shaped cup covers about 1/3 of nut, cap is rough scaly, stalk is short.
Twig: Moderately stout, smooth or quite fuzzy, orangish brown, terminal bud 1/4 inch long, reddish brown, buds cluster near ends of twig.
Bark: Similar to white oak, ashy gray, scaly, with age developing irregular furrows and becoming darker.
Form: Well-formed tree becoming quite large (80 feet tall) with a narrow crown.
Looks like: swamp white oak
- chinkapin oak
- chestnut oak
- bur oak