Arkansas Tree Database

Black Oak

Black Oak

Scientific name:

Quercus Velutina

Size:

70' tall, up to 100' tall

Leaves:

alternate, simple, 4"-10" long, with 7-9 lobes, bristle-tipped, hard, leathery, shiny above and coppery brown and conspicuously fuzzy beneath

Flowers:

inconspicuous

Fruit:

acorn half-enclosed in cup that looks slightly fringed at rim, ripening in autumn of the second year

Fall Interest:

orange or reddish brown; deciduous

Culture:

sun to partial sun; dry to moist soil

Disease/Insect:

Use:

shade tree; wood for fuel, lumber, flooring

Cultivars:

Notes:

bark dark brown to black and thick with deep furrows and rough ridges; inner bark bright yellow, used to produce quercitron, a yellow dye used in tanning leather; "velutina" means velvety and refers to the undersides of the leaves; butterfly larval host; native to Arkansas

Resources:

Click thumbnail to enlarge images

Black oak bark on mature tree Black oak bark on trunk Black oak leaf, up to 10" long Black oak leaves, showing 7-9 main lobes and bristles on the tips Black oak leaves, fall Black oak leaves, fall Black oak leaf, underside Black oak acorn Black oak acorns Black oak tree Black oak tree, fall Black oak twig Black oak twigs and buds