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](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_bark_1.jpg)
![Black oak bark on trunk](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_bark_2.jpg)
![Black oak leaf, up to 10" long](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_foliage_1.jpg)
![Black oak leaves, showing 7-9 main lobes and bristles on the tips](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_foliage_2.jpg)
![Black oak leaves, fall](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_foliage_3.jpg)
![Black oak leaves, fall](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_foliage_4.jpg)
![Black oak leaf, underside](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_foliage_5.jpg)
![Black oak acorn](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_fruit_1.jpg)
![Black oak acorns](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_fruit_2.jpg)
![Black oak tree](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_tree_1.jpg)
![Black oak tree, fall](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_tree_2.jpg)
![Black oak twig](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_twig_1.jpg)
![Black oak twigs and buds](/static/gallery/img/black_oak_twig_2.jpg)