The [FRUIT] is short-stemmed, usually single, ¼ to ¾ inch long and broad, varying to nearly 1 inch long and ⅓ inch broad, set in a cup that covers one-third or less of the fruit, reddish-brown and often streaked with dark lines.
The WOOD is most useful for fuel.
GRAVES OAK (Q. gravesii Sudw.) is found in the Davis and Chisos Mountains of southwestern Texas.
BLACK OAK
Quercus velutina Lam.
Black oak, also called yellow oak, reaches 80 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet in diameter. It grows in East Texas, and in the hills and canyons near the mouth of the Pecos River. The [crown] is irregularly shaped and wide, with a clear trunk for 20 feet or more on large trees. The [BARK] on the very young trunks is smooth and dark brown, but soon becomes thick and black with deep furrows and rough broken edges. The bright yellow color and bitter taste of the inner bark are distinguishing characteristics.
BLACK OAK (Twig and [fruit], one-half natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)
The LEAVES are [deciduous], [alternate], [simple], 5 to 10 inches long and 3 to 8 inches wide, shallow or deeply [lobed], the shape varying greatly. When mature, the leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, pale on the lower, more or less covered with a [scurfy] yellow or orange down, and with conspicuous rusty brown hairs in the forks of the [veins].
The [FRUIT] matures the second season. The light brown [nut] is from ½ to 1 inch long, more or less hemispherical in shape, and from one-half to three-fourths enclosed in the thin, dark brown, scaly cup. The yellow kernel is bitter.
The WOOD, used and marketed as red oak, is hard, heavy, strong, coarse-grained, and checks easily. It is a bright red-brown with a thin outer edge of paler [sapwood].