Twigs: Stout, grayish-brown to yellowish-brown; leaf scars alternate, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces; pith star-shaped in cross-section.
Buds: Clustered at the tips of the twigs, ellipsoid to spherical, up to ⅛ inch long, yellow-brown, smooth or with a few hairs at the tip.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades usually broadest above the middle, up to 6 inches long and 4 inches broad, coarsely round-toothed or sometimes with a few shallow lobes, smooth or somewhat hairy on the upper surface, white and softly hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks nearly an inch long, smooth or slightly hairy.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing when the leaves begin to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate in slender, drooping catkins, the pistillate in groups of 2-4.
Fruit: Acorns in pairs, on stalks 1 inch long or longer, the nut ovoid, pale brown, 1-1½ inches long, enclosed about ⅓ its length by the cup, the cup thick, light brown, hairy, roughened.
Wood: Hard, heavy, strong, pale brown.
Uses: Interior finishing, cabinets, fuel, fence posts.
Habitat: Bottomland woods.
Range: Maine and southern Quebec across to southern Minnesota, south to Oklahoma, east to Georgia.
Distinguishing Features: The Swamp White Oak is distinguished by its leaves which are coarsely round-toothed and softly white hairy on the lower surface of the leaves.