Twigs: Reddish brown, smooth when mature. Buds blunt-pointed, usually round in cross section, dark reddish brown; upper half wooly.
Fruit: An acorn, ½″-1″ long, kernel white; cup thin, bowl-like, covering about ½ of the nut; cup scales sharp-pointed, smooth, tight.
General: Bark on young trees, smooth, light brown; on older trunks ridged, darker. Inner bark reddish. Drooping dead lower branches persist for many years. A medium to large-sized tree, commonly found on dry soils. Wood inferior to red oak, but often sold under that name.
BLACK OAK
(Quercus velutina)
Leaves: Simple, alternate, 5″-9″ long, 5-7 [lobes], bristle-tipped; dark green and usually shiny above; paler, more or less covered with rusty-brown fuzz beneath. Yellowish brown in autumn. Often confused with those of [scarlet oak].
Twigs: Reddish brown, usually fuzzy. Buds blunt-pointed, ridged, yellow-gray, wooly.
Fruit: An acorn, about ¾″ long, kernel yellow; cup bowl-like, covering from ⅓ to ½ or more of the nut; cup scales sharp-pointed, form a loose fringe at the rim, covered with whitish wooly hairs.
General: Bark on young stems smooth, dark brown; on older trunks dull black, furrowed, forming irregular blocks. Inner bark orange-yellow. A medium to large-sized tree. Wood has the same uses as that of red oak.
