Quercus lyrata

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Growth habit changes from pyramidal-oval in youth to oval-rounded to rounded at maturity. Upswept lower branches. Gets 40-60' tall and wide in most landscapes, but has grown to over 100' in Virginia. Grows uniformly, even from seed. Slow-growing. Medium lifespan.

Native Range

Kentucky Native — Occurs in the central & southern forest regions. Native from New Jersey to Florida, west to Missouri & Texas, including extreme southwest Kentucky. Introduced 1786.

Flower and Fruit Details

Monoecious flowers, March-April. Male: catkins, yellow. Female: small, red. Starts producing seed at about 25 years of age, w/ high yields every 3-4 yrs. The acorn cap ("cup"), w/ no burs, almost completely covers over and hides the nut (thus the common name). The nut is sessile, rounded, 3/4-1" in size, maturing in one year.

Leaf and Bark Features

Deciduous: Simple, alternate, leathery leaves, 6-8" long & 1.5-5" wide, ovate-oblong in shape, 3-5 pairs of lobes, Lower lobes small & triangular. Top side dark green & glabrous, bottom is white tomentose or lighter green & pubescent. Petiole: 1/2", yellow-orange. Yellow-brown to brown fall color, with occasional red/orange hues mixed in. Fall leaf drop occurs earlier than most other oaks. Young stems stout, angled, gray-brown, with small, gray lenticels. Older bark resembles that of white oak, gray to brownish-gray, becoming scaly. Bark may appear twisted, especially if grown on poor sites.

Culture and Care

Needs full sun to part shade . Tolerates erosion, clay soil & wet soil. Little pruning needed. Tolerates difficult sites & occasionally flooded areas, such as winter-flooded sites, but does not grow in permanent swamps like baldcypress could. Will grow on the banks of sloughs near a swamp. This is a bottomland tree in the wild, found in swampy areas, low areas and backwater areas, tolerating considerable flooding. Much easier to transplant than white oak. Prefers acid soil. Zones 5-9. No serious insect or disease problems. Could get cankers, leaf spots, powdery mildew, scale, galls, leaf miner, lacebugs, borers & caterpillars.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

Good wildlife value. 3-season interest: Spring, summer & fall. In the white oak group. Often found near river birch, sycamore, cottonwood, and persimmon.

Suggested Uses

Trial plots have shown this to be a superior shade tree. It should be used more often, especially in set sites.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA