Bark.—Dark gray and scaly on old trunks.
Wood.—Strong, hard, with brown heartwood.
Range.—Maine to southern Virginia, west to Ohio.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Common along the Alleghany Mountains and in the Eastern Panhandle.
Habitat.—Dry soils of slopes and mountain tops.
Notes.—This oak is usually a shrub in West Virginia, but it sometimes reaches the form and size of a small tree. In many places it grows in dense thickets covering large areas on mountain sides and flats. The red-brown dry leaves often hang on over winter, giving rise to a common local name, “Red-brush.”
BLACK JACK OAK
Quercus marilandica, Muench.