Uses: Fence posts, fuel, general construction.
Habitat: Dry and usually poor upland soil; occasionally in bottomlands.
Range: Central New Jersey south to central Florida, across to eastern Texas, up the Mississippi Basin to central Missouri, south-central Illinois, southeastern Indiana, western Kentucky, and western Tennessee.
Distinguishing Features: The Spanish Oak is the only bristle-tipped oak in Illinois in which the lower leaf surface is covered with a mat of fine hairs.
SHINGLE OAK
Quercus imbricaria Michx.
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown rounded or oblong, with many branches; trunk straight, columnar.
Bark: Dark brown, deeply furrowed between flat, tight plates.
Twigs: Slender, smooth, reddish-brown; pith star-shaped in cross-sections; leaf scars alternate but crowded near the tip of the twigs, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces.
Buds: Ovoid, pointed, brown, smooth, up to ⅛ inch long.