Alternate name: Blackjack, Jack Oak

Family: Fagaceae, Beech view all from this family

Description A small to medium-sized oak, 30-50 ft, with bristle-lobed leaves that are shiny on top & rusty-yellow hairy beneath. The short, nearly black trunk divides into many dense, contorted limbs. Foliage turns red in fall and persists into winter. This oak sometimes grows in colonies.

Habitat Mountains, Scrub, shrub & brushlands.

Range Plains, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Florida, Texas, Great Lakes.

Comments Restricted in nature to sandy soils and hardpans, this species is often seen as an scrubby, unattractive tree. When given good soil and room to develops an attractive, symmetrical form. Slow-growing, long-lived, and able to survive on very poor soils. Susceptible to oak wilt.

Exposure Preference Sun.

Native Distribution S.e. New York to e. Kansas, s. to Florida & c. Texas

Site Preference Dry, upland forest edges; bluff ledges; savannas

Soil Preference Variable.

Wildlife Value Acorns attract songbirds, ground birds and mammals.