Key to the Species of Oaks Native to Middle Tennessee:
1. Leaves with 5 to 20 pairs of teeth or shallow
lobes..........................................................................................2
1. Leaves with smooth margin or with 1 to 5 pairs of deeply cut
lobes..................................................................5
2. Leaves with 5 to 8 pairs of lateral veins, not all ending in teeth
or lobes; lobes irregular in size; acorns on stalks
5-10 cm. long; rare in swampy
habitats...................................................Quercus bicolor
(Swamp White Oak)
2. Leaves with 9 to 20 pairs of lateral veins, all (except perhaps 1 or 2
at the apex or base) ending in teeth...........3
3. Teeth of leaves blunt, not or slightly curved towards the
apex.......................................................................... 4
3. Teeth of leaves sharp, mostly curved towards the apex; common on thin
soils with limestone bedrock...............
limestone
bedrock.............................................................................Quercus
muehlenbergii (Chinkapin Oak)
4. Bark dark, deeply furrowed; acorn cup scales fused; trees of dry
habitats..........Quercus prinus (chestnut Oak)
4. Bark light, scaly; acorn cup scales free; rare tree of moist
habitats....Quercus michauxii (Swamp chestnut Oak)
5. Lobes of leaves with with one or more bristle tips; mature
acorns on last years twigs (red and black oaks)......6
5. Leaves without bristle tips; mature acorns on this year's twigs (white
oaks)....................................................17
6. Leaves with smooth margin and unlobed to three-lobed; if lobed
then widest towards the apex.......................7
6. Leaves 5 to 11 lobed; if lobes fewer than 5, then leaves widest near
the middle or base..................................11
7. Leaves with smooth margin, widest near the
middle........................................................................................8
7. Leaves somewhat lobed to distinctly lobed, widest near the
apex....................................................................9
8. Leaves with short hairs beneath , 2 to 5 cm wide; on moist to dry
sites.........Quercus imbricaria (Shingle Oak)
8. Leaves smooth beneath, 0.5 to 2 cm wide; moist
habitats...................................Quercus phellos (Willow Oak)
9. Leaf bases wedge-shaped; leaves smooth beneath; twigs slender; very
rare in moist habitats...............................
.............................................................................................................................Quercus
nigra (Water Oak)
9. Leaf bases rounded; twigs stout and with short
hairs.......................................................................................10
10. Lower surfaces of leaf uniformly covered with short hairs; dry
habitats....Quercus falcata (Southern Red Oak)
10. Lower surfaces of leaf hairless or with scattered short
hairs..................Quercus marilandica (Blackjack Oak)
11. Lower surfaces of leaves uniformly
hairy.......................................................................................................12
11. Lower surfaces of leaves hairless except for axillary tufts or with
scattered short hairs....................................13
12. Leaf base somewhat U-shaped, terminal lobe definitely longer than
the lateral lobes; dry habitats........................
..............................................................................................................Quercus falcata (Southern Red Oak)
12. Leaf base broadly acute, terminal lobe not longer than lateral lobes;
moist habitats..............................................
................................................................................................................Quercus
pagoda (Cherrybark Oak)
13. Lower surfaces of leaves hairless except for prominent tufts of
hairs in axils.....................................................14
13. Lower surfaces of leaves hairless or with scattered short hairs;
axillary tufts absent or minute............................15
14. Twigs gray to gray-brown; mature buds grayish; leaves with 7-11
lobes; usually on moist sites..........................
.................................................................................................................Quercus
shumardii (Shumard Oak)
14. Twigs red-brown; buds red-brown; leaves with 5-7 lobes; swampy
sites...................Quercus palustris (Pin Oak)
15. Leaves 7-11 lobed, sinuses between lobes usually extending less
than halfway to the midrib; acorn has
a broad, saucer-shaped cup; the bark of a
mature tree is dark with vertical silvery stripes; abundant on moist
but well-drained sites, especially
north-facing slopes....................................Quercus rubra
(Northern Red Oak)
15. Leaves 5-9 lobed, sinuses extend more than halway to
midrib...........................................................................16
16. Leaf stalks slender, wihout hairs, lower surfaces of leaves
hairless, except for small tufts in axils; inner bark pinkish;
acorn apex has concentric rings; cup is
bowl shaped; fairly common on very dry sites--ridges
and south-facing
slopes....................................................................................Quercus
coccinea (Scarlet Oak)
16. Leaf stalks stout, often with short hairs; lower surfaces of leaves
with scattered short hairs; inner bark yellow
or orange; outer bark black and furrowed,
no silvery stripes;common on dry sites--especially ridges and
south-facing
slopes................................................................................................Quecus
velutina (Black Oak)
17. Tips of twigs covered with short hairs; Usually with 5 main lobes;
acorns small; abundant on dry sites.................
............................................................................................................................Quercus
stellata (Post Oak)
17. Twigs
hairless.................................................................................................................................................18
18. Lower surfaces of leaves hairless; bark light gray; abundant on dry
sites, but found on moist, drained sites too....
...............................................................................................................................Quercus
alba (White Oak)
18. Lower surfaces of leaves with short
hairs.........................................................................................................19
19. Lower leaf sinuses almost reaching the midrib, the upper sinuses
much more shallow; upper half of leaf broad;
acorn cup conspicuously fringed, covering
about 1/2 of the large nut; found on stream banks, but not common...
.......................................................................................................................Quercus
macrocarpa (Bur Oak)
19. Lower leaf sinuses not as deep; leaves irregularly lobed; acorn cups
not fringed, covering 2/3 of the nut;
rare on swampy sites (have observed this
species on the lakeshore of Kentucky Lake at
Land Between the
Lakes)................................................................................Quercus
lyrata (Overcup Oak)