Scarlet Oak

Quercus coccinea

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

▲ leaves

▲ ▼ leaves and buds

Location near campus: Close Park, Botanical Center

Quercus coccinea: Scarlet Oak

leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, ovate with 7-9 bristle-tipped lobes--major lobes are "C" shaped; 3-6" long and about 2/3 as wide; shiny dark green above; glabrous and lighter green below with tufts of hair in vein axils sometimes
stems light brown to red-brown, glabrous, angled with small gray lenticels
buds are ovate (football shaped) dark red-brown and glabrous on bottom half, pale woolly on top half
bark is dark gray brown with shallow fissures-- like pin oak
grows 70-75' tall and about 2 as wide
acorns solitary or in pairs, 1/2-1" long, tapering toward tip; cap covers 2 to 1/3 of acorn; acorn often has concentric rings around tip
prefers dry, upland sites
medium to fast growth rate
native to southeast Missouri