Flowers: Borne separately but on the same tree, minute, without petals, the staminate crowded into long, slender catkins, the pistillate few in a cluster.
Fruit: Acorns solitary or paired, with or without short stalks, the nut ovoid to ellipsoid, brown, up to 1½ inches long, enclosed about ⅓ its length by the cup, the cup thick, cup-shaped, hairy, short-fringed along the rim.
Wood: Hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, pale brown.
Uses: General construction, fuel, fence posts.
Habitat: Low woods.
Range: New Jersey across to southern Missouri, south to Texas, east to Florida.
Distinguishing Features: The Swamp Chestnut Oak is distinguished from other coarsely toothed oaks by the densely hairy, whitish lower leaf surfaces and its short-stalked acorns.
YELLOW CHESTNUT OAK
Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm.
Other Names: Chinquapin; Chinquapin Oak.