Nuttall oak
Quercus texana Buckley
  • FAMILY: FAGACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: Texas red oak, striped oak
  • LEAVES: alternate, simple, deciduous; 5-7 deep, asymmetrical lobes, bristle tipped; lower surface glabrous except for tufts of hairs in leaf vein axils
  • FLOWER: monoecious, male flowers in catkins, female flowers inconspicuous, solitary or several in short spikes
  • FRUIT: fruit maturing in the second season; acorn oblong-ellipsoid 1-1.5” long; cap bowl-like, covering one-third to one-half of the acorn, the base of the cap with a thick nipple-like stalk-like portion
  • TWIGS:
  • BARK: smooth, medium to dark gray, furrowed with age
  • FORM: large tree
  • HABITAT: bottomland hardwood forests
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: south-central U.S. centered on the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley [USGS Range Map]
  • USES: frequent ornamental; wood of moderate quality
  • WILDLIFE: important mast tree dropping acorns over 6-8 week
  • Best Recognition Features:
    1. large red oak of very wet forests
    2. bark smooth, medium to dark gray, furrowed on large trees
    3. lateral lobes of leaves often alternating
    4. lower surfaces of leaves glabrous except for tufts of hairs in leaf vein axils
    5. acorn cap bowl shaped, deep, basally with a thick nipple-like scaly stalk