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General Description: Easily confused with regular white oak , Oglethorpe oak, and water oak, this tree also has gray, scaly bark as do white and Oglethorpe oaks. Water oak however lacks this distinctive bark. The obovate leaves are arranged alternately on the stem, are widest above the middle, and may have 3 shallow lobes toward the tip. Leaf size is generally 1 ½-4in (4-10cm) long and ¾-1 ½ in (1.5-3.5cm) wide with the underside being somewhat hairy. Male and female flowers are produced on the same tree (monoecious); male flowers appear as long drooping catkins. The fruit is a nut or "acorn", which has a shorter stalk than white oak. The cup covers less than 1/3 of the acorn. Flowering occurs in April with fruiting in the fall of the same year.
General Habitat: Found on hill sides and stream banks; more common in coastal plain counties.
