Blackjack Oak

Blackjack Oak

Quercus marilandica

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

▲ mature tree

▲ newly-emerged leaves

▲ ▼ leaves

▲ fall color

▲ ▼ buds

▲ ▼ trunks and bark

Location near campus: Oak Grove Park in Springfield, MO

Quercus marilandica: Blackjack Oak

leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, with wider top half of leaf than base, or broad, 3-lobed leaf tip (unique leaf shape); 4-10" long and 2 as wide; dark-green and shiny above; yellow-green and very pubescent underneath; upper lobes tipped with prickles (leaves may persist through winter)
stems thick, pubescent and reddish when young, becoming brown/ash-gray with age
buds oval, 1/8 - 1/4" long, covered with rusty-brown hairs
bark is black, broken into irregular plates with furrows
grows 15-60' tall (depending on soil conditions) in irregular to rounded or oval crown; small, lower dead branches persist long on tree
acorn is 3/4-1.25" long, about 2 enclosed in reddish brown cap; acorn is dark brown to black
prefers full sun to part shade, dry, acid, infertile soils, but will grow larger in more fertile soils; is one of the oaks that can grow in very poor Ozark soils (along with post oak and black oak)
slow to medium growth rate, depending on growing conditions
native to Missouri (and Springfield)