Virginia Tech Dendrology

overcup oak Fagaceae Quercus lyrata Walter symbol: QULY
Leaf: Alternate, simple, 6 to 10 inches long, roughly oblong in shape with a highly variable margin that has 5 to 9 lobes with irregular sinuses. The underside is white and pubescent.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male flowers are green, borne in naked catkins, 2 to 4 inches long; female flowers reddish single spikes, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Acorns are 1/2 to 1 inch long, round and almost entirely covered by the warty and unfringed cap, maturing in 1 year, ripening in fall.
Twig: Slender and gray, glabrous - very closely resembling white oak. Buds are small, ovoid and light chestnut brown in color; end buds are clustered.
Bark: Gray-brown and scaly, often with irregular plates, again resembling white oak.
Form: A medium sized tree with generally poor, twisted form. However, the crown is pyramidal/oval and later rounded.
Looks like: white oak - bur oak - post oak - swamp chestnut oak

Additional Range Information: Quercus lyrata is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
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