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West Virginia Trees

Chapter 63: BUR OAK
By A. B. Brooks
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Nature/Gardening/Animals

About This Book

A practical field guide to the native and introduced trees of West Virginia, providing keys based mainly on leaves and fruits, concise family and species descriptions, and detailed line drawings for about 101 native species. It organizes trees by botanical families, gives brief flower notes, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for identifying specimens; occasional introduced species and shrubs are noted. The bulletin emphasizes simplicity for non-specialists, offers measurements and habit descriptions for each species, and includes administrative prefatory material. Its aim is to aid lay readers and students in tree identification and to encourage local interest in forestry.

BUR OAK

Quercus macrocarpa, Michx.

Form.—Height 40-75 feet, diameter 2-4 feet; trunk usually short, bearing a rounded crown.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 6-12 inches long, wedge-shaped at the base, usually crenate lobed toward the apex with deep sinuses and rounded lobes in the middle; thick and firm, dark green and glossy above, pale pubescence beneath.

Flowers.—Similar to the other annual oaks, before described.

Fruit.—Matures in autumn of first season; very large acorn with a deep cup heavily fringed on the rim; nut ovoid, 1-1½ inches long, brown, pubescent, about one-third enclosed in the cup.

Bark.—Deeply furrowed and similar to that of White Oak; corky on the twigs.

Wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, brownish, with thin sapwood.

Range.—Nova Scotia and Manitoba south to West Virginia and west to Kansas and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Rare. Observed in the following localities: Hardy County, between Romney and Moorefield; Grant County, several trees on Lunice Creek near Petersburg; Morgan County, near Great Cacapon station. Reported from Tyler County.

Habitat.—Usually on rich soils near streams.

Notes.—This is a very large and valuable oak in Kansas and other states but is too rare to merit much attention in West Virginia. The beautifully-lobed leaves and large acorns will not fail to interest the student of trees.