Black Oak

LEAVES: Alternate, simple, 4″-8″ long, 3″-5″ wide; each has 5-7 pointed, bristle-tipped lobes, sinuses between the lobes go halfway to the mid-rib on lower leaves, deeper on top leaves; smooth and shiny above and usually covered with a rust-brown fuzz below.

TWIGS: Reddish brown, usually fuzzy. Buds blunt pointed, ridged, yellow-grey, wooly.

FRUIT: An acorn, ½”-1″ long, somewhat round, light brown. The acorn-cup is bowl-like with wooly hairs, covering 1/2 or more of the nut; cup-scales sharp-pointed, forming a loose fringe at the rim. Black oak acorns need two growing-seasons to ripen; kernels are yellow and extremely bitter.

BARK: Smooth and dark brown for many years, older trunks are dull black, furrowed, furrows forming irregular blocks; inner bark orange to orange-yellow.

GENERAL: A relatively fast-growing tree to 75′ high, one of the most common oaks on dry, upland sites. The acorns are eaten by wildlife, but not preferred; the young stems and twigs are browsed by deer. A yellow dye can be made from the bark. The wood is lumped with other oak species and sold as red oak for general construction lumber and furniture.