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sand post oak Fagaceae Quercus margaretta (Ashe) Small Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: QUMA13
Leaf: Alternate, simple, 4 to 6 inches long, 3 to 5 lobed (irregular), lobes are rounded and middle pair somewhat square (similar to Quercus stellata, post oak), thick texture, shiny green above, downy and pale below.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male flowers are light green slender catkins, 2 to 3 inches long; females are very small, reddish and appear as short spikes, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Acorns, 1/2 inch long, light brown, bowl shaped cap has thin scales and covers 1/3 to 1/2 of acorn, mature in one year, ripen in fall.
Twig: Moderate, gray and glabrous to sparsely tomentose, multiple terminal buds are larger than post oak.
Bark: Gray to gray-brown, scaly initially and later developing vertical ridges and becoming darker.
Form: A small tree up to 50 feet with a broad crown and twisted branches.
 Looks like: post oak - white oak - overcup oak - bur oak

sand post oak leaf image
sand post oak fruit image
sand post oak twig image
sand post oak bark image
sand post oak form image
sand post oak map image

Additional Range Information: Quercus margaretta is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information