SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus coccinea

COMMON NAME: scarlet oak

LEAVES: 7 to 9 lobes and glabrous. "C" shaped sinuses with many bristle tips on each relatively wide lobe. Usually the top half of axillary buds are covered with white hairs (snow covered mountain).

GROWTH RATE: 1.7 ft./yr. in our shade tree study.

FRUIT: Acorn cap extends a quarter to half way down the acorn. Approximately 1/2" in diameter.

BARK: Dark ridge and furrowed.

OTHER: Bud has a white pubescence at the tip. On some trees this characteristic is more obvious than on others. Grows well on dry sites. Excellent red fall color (best of any oak). Native all over the southeast United States. Tap rooted so don't move over 3" in caliper. Grows about 80' tall. Averaging between 1 and 2' per year of growth in shade tree study. This tree is sometimes confused with Quercus palustris but can be distinguished by the fact that its leaves are usually longer with thicker more bristle tipped lobes and by the bud. This species is in the red oak group.