Description of Plant

Leaf: Dark green and slightly shiny above, gray green and slightly hairy underneath. Leaves are 10-25 cm in length and 5-13 cm in width. They are the widest beyond the middle and the lower half is deeply divided into 2-3 lobes on each side. The upper half usually has 5-7 rounded shallow lobes on each side that go into a broad rounded tip.

Acorn: The acorns are large being 2-5 cm in length and width.

Bark: The bark is light gray and deeply furrowed into scaly ridges.

Form: This tree has a stout trunk and a broad, rounded, open crown of stout and often crooked branches.

Discussion of the Plant

This is the largest of all native oaks. The common name for this tree is actually a description of the cup of the acorn, because it looks like the bur of a chestnut. In the Western states it was a pioneer tree bordering and invading the grasslands. This tree is used for shade, ornament and shelterbelts. The acorn of this species is known for its deeply fringed cups.

Copyright

© Sue Grabowski, Gail Slowinski, Carl Schurz High School 2003

References

Coombes, Allen, J, Smithsonian Handbook of Trees, Dorling Kindersley, London, 2002.

Little, Elbert, L., Field Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1980.

Symonds, George, W.D., The Tree Identification Book, Quill Publishing, New York, N.Y. 1958.