Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades without lobes or teeth, lanceolate to oblong, with a bristle tip, narrowed to the base, up to 6 inches long, up to 2 inches wide, dark green, smooth and shiny on the upper surface, paler and hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks up to ½ inch long, stout, hairy.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing as the leaves begin to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate in slender, yellow, drooping catkins, the pistillate few in a cluster.
Fruit: Acorns solitary or 2 together, stalked, the nut nearly spherical, dark brown, less than half enclosed by the cup, the cup reddish-brown and slightly hairy.
Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, light reddish-brown.
Uses: Shingles, general construction.
Habitat: Moist soil along streams or in woods; occasionally on dry, exposed sandstone cliffs.
Range: New Jersey across to Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, south to Kansas, east to Arkansas and South Carolina.
Distinguishing Features: Only the Shingle Oak and the Willow Oak, among all the oaks, have leaves without any teeth or lobes. The Shingle Oak generally has broader leaves than does the Willow Oak. The Shingle Oak can be told from Magnolias by its star-shaped pith and the formation of acorns.
