FAMILY: FAGACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:
LEAVES: alternate, simple, deciduous; 1-3”
long by 5/8 to 1.25” wide; coriaceous; oblanceolate
to rhombic; lustrous green above, pale below with yellow midrib
FLOWER: monoecious, catkins
FRUIT: acorn 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; saucer-like
cap covers 1/4 or less of the nut
TWIGS:
BARK: dark gray to black; deep furrows with
flattened ridges when older
FORM: 60-70’ feet x 2-3 ft dbh
HABITAT: more upland than diamond
leaf oak, common on well-drained sandy soils
WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Upland (FACU): Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
RANGE: coastal plain to 500 feet elevation
USES: mixed in with other southern red oaks
for lumber; ornamental
Best Recognition Features:
- upland site
- oblanceolate to rhombic leaves
- coriaceous, lustrous green above, pale below
NOTE: Q. obtusa is treated as a synonym of Q. laurifolia;
Q. laurifolia can be split into: Q. hemisphaerica (laurel oak) AND Q. laurifolia (diamond leaf oak)
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COMPARED TO OTHER WILLOW OAKS ::
- diamond leaf oak
- rhombic leaves; acorns 5/8 to 3/4 inch diameter
- :: laurel oak ::
- wider,
elliptical, unspatulated leaves; green acorns; not
common in Louisiana
- water
oak
- spatulated leaves; acorns 1/2 inch, nearly black
- willow
oak
- narrow unspatuated leaves; green-to-dark acorns
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