What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like
- What Does A Blackjack Oak Tree Look Like
- What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Mean
- What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Acorns
- What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Look
- What Does Blackjack Oak Leaves Look Like
Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) 7 Shingle oak (Quercus imbricaria) 8 Upland White Oaks 8 White oak (Quercus alba) 8 Chestnut oak (Quercus montana) 9 Post oak (Quercus stellata) 10 Chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) 10 Bottomland Red Oaks 11 Pin oak (Quercus palustris) 11 Water oak (Quercus nigra) 11 Cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda) 12. (aka Spanish) oak, Shumard oak, blackjack oak and water oak are extremely susceptible to oak wilt disease. Apr 18, 2007 Some of the lower grade oaks like Blackjack Oak (Quercus marylandica) look naturally brown to me, so it might be that one or one of the other scrub red oaks like bluejack oak (Quercus pumila), which occurs in. One of the biggest threats to oak trees in Texas is oak wilt, an often deadly fungal disease which compromises the tree’s ability to retain water. Although all oaks are vulnerable to this pathogen, red oaks, including Texas oaks, Shumard oaks, blackjack oaks and water oaks are the most at risk. Blackjack oaks are a small variety of oak tree that can be found growing wild throughout a significant portion of the woodlands of the eastern U.S. These trees are fairly hardy and thrive in soil that is too poor for other trees. Although adaptable to a variety of soil conditions, the blackjack oak is quite susceptible to disease.
Quercus marilandica
Beech family (Fagaceae)
Description: This small single-trunked tree is typically 10–30' tall in the wild, although in cultivation it may become 30–50' tall. The crown of this tree is usually as broad as it is across in open areas and densely branched, while in more shaded areas the crown becomes more open and elongated. However, small trees that are stunted from rocky barren ground often have a crown that is irregularly shaped and open. The trunk is up to 1' across and short; it is covered with nearly black coarse bark that is irregularly furrowed or blocky. The smaller branches and older twigs are more gray and smooth; they tend to be short and craggy. Young twigs are light brown with short brown pubescence toward their tips; the conical or bluntly conical buds are also light brown with short brown pubescence.
Alternate leaves occur along young twigs; they are 3–7' long, 2½–6' across, and obovate or obovate-obconic in outline with 3–5 shallow lobes along their outer margins. The lobes of the leaves taper to tips that are obtusely angled, shallowly rounded, or bluntly square-shaped; each lobe has an exserted vein. The leaf base is narrowly rounded to wedge-shaped, while the leaf margins are irregularly undulate or slightly curved where the shallow lobes don't occur. The upper leaf surface is dark green, shiny, and sparsely covered with short brown pubescence that is stellate (star-shaped). The lower leaf surface is light-medium green, dull, and moderately covered with short brown pubescence that is stellate. Such brownish pubescence is especially common along the lower sides of leaf veins. The petioles are 3–12 mm. (up to ½') long; they are greenish white or pale yellow, and glabrous or with short brown pubescence. Like other oaks, this oak is monoecious with male (staminate) and female (pistillate) florets occurring on the same tree. The male florets are distributed along drooping greenish yellow catkins up to 5' long; each male floret (less than 3 mm. in size) has about 6 stamens, a short calyx with 4-6 lobes, and early-deciduous bractlets. The female florets are nearly sessile on the twigs; each female floret (less than 3 mm. in size) consists of an ovary with 2-3 styles, a calyx with 4-6 lobes, and several surrounding bractlets.
The blooming period occurs from mid- to late-spring, lasting about 1–2 weeks. Cross-pollination of the florets is by wind. Afterwards, fertile female florets slowly develop into nearly sessile acorns that are solitary or in clusters of 2–3. These acorns take 2 years to develop and they don't become mature until autumn of the following year. Individual acorns are about ¾' long and ½' across, consisting of a rather deep cup with light brown pubescent scales and an ovoid nut that is smooth-sided, light to medium brown, and pointed at its apex. The cup extends along one-third to one-half of the length of the acorn and partially overlaps the nut. The interior of the nut is nearly white, meaty, and somewhat bitter. The woody root system of this tree produces a deep taproot with more shallow lateral roots. This tree reproduces by reseeding itself. During autumn, the leaves become dull yellow to red before turning brown; they have a tendency to persist on this tree during the winter.
Cultivation: The preference is full sun, dry-mesic to dry conditions, and barren ground containing sand, gravel, clay, and/or rocky material. This tree grows slowly and can live up to 200 years.
Range & Habitat: Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica) is native to southern and west-central Illinois, where it is occasional (see Distribution Map). Elsewhere within the state, it does not occur as a wild tree. Illinois lies along the northern range-limit of this tree; it occurs primarily in the southeast and southern plains area of the USA. Habitats include upland rocky woodlands, rocky outcrops, thinly wooded bluffs, upland sandy woodlands, upland sandy savannas, sandstone glades, limestone glades, shale glades, edges of sandy prairies, and abandoned fields. Blackjack Oak typically occurs in drier areas of oak-hickory woodlands and savannas; in sandy areas of Illinois, it often occurs with Black Oak (Quercus velutina). Blackjack Oak is often top-killed by wildfires, but it can resprout from its roots. In Illinois, it is usually found in higher quality natural areas.
Faunal Associations: Like other oaks, Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica) is a food plant of many insects. Examples of insects that are known to feed on this oak include leaf beetles (Metachroma laevicolle, Xanthonia striata), nut-feeding larvae of weevils (Curculio humeralis, Curculio longidens), aphids (Myzocallis punctatus), armored scales (Melanapis obscura), leaf-mining larvae of moths (Nepticula quercipulchella), and leafhoppers (Eratoneura spp.). In particular, Blackjack Oak is a preferred host plant of the leafhoppers Eratoneura havana
What Does A Blackjack Oak Tree Look Like
, Eratoneura marilandicae, and Eratoneura tenuitas (Clark et al., 2004; Gibson, 1985; Hottes & Frison, 1931; ScaleNet, 2014; Needham et al., 1928; Dmitriev & Dietrich, 2010). Other insects that feed on this and other oaks include the larvae of wood-boring beetles (Buprestidae, Cerambycidae), the larvae of bark beetles (Scolytidae), treehoppers (Membracidae), the larvae of sawflies (Tenthredinidae), the larvae of skippers (Hesperiidae), the larvae of Hairstreak butterflies (Lycaenidae), walkingsticks (Diapheromeridae, Pseudophasmatidae), and the larvae of hundreds of moths (Geometridae, Noctuidae, Saturniidae, etc.).Among vertebrate animals, the relatively small acorns of this tree are eaten by such birds as the American Crow, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Bobwhite Quail, Wild Turkey, Greater Prairie Chicken, Ring-necked Pheasant, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Passenger Pigeon (now extinct). Mammals that feed on the acorns include the Gray Fox, American Black Bear, White-tailed Deer, Raccoon, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Fox Squirrel, Prairie Vole, and White-footed Mouse (DeGraaf, 2002; Martin et al., 1951/1961). This small tree provides good cover for birds, mammals, and other wildlife.
Photographic Location: A sandy savanna and edge of an upland sand prairie at the Sand Prairie & Scrub Oak Nature Preserve in Mason County, Illinois.
Comments: With the exception of the Dwarf Chinkapin Oak (Quercus prinoides), this is the smallest oak in Illinois. Blackjack Oak is rarely cultivated, but it is able to adapt to harsh dry environments of various kinds. This oak can be easily identified by its small size, the unusual shape to its leaves, and the short brown pubescence on its young twigs and leaves (especially the undersides of the latter). This oak is known to hybridize with many other oaks species in the Red Oak/Black Oak group, and such hybrids are common, causing irregularities in the shape of its leaves. The purest strain of Blackjack Oak has leaves with only 3-5 lobes and those lobes are obtusely pointed, rather than rounded. When this oak hybridizes with other oaks, such as Post Oak (Quercus stellata) or Black Oak (Quercus velutina), the leaves will have more rounded and abundant lobes. The photograph of the leaves for the hybrid Bush's Oak (Quercus marilandica × Quercus velutina, Quercus × bushii) shows what such leaves look like.
The blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) is also known as the Jack oak, black oak, and barren oak. A small deciduous tree that grows 20 to 30 feet (maximum 90 feet) with a trunk diameter of 1 foot or less. It is similar to the post oak which also grows with blackjack oak, but the leaf lobes are more pronounced and not bristle-tipped.
Habitat: Found in upland woods of southeast Iowa
Hardiness: Varies with the species of oak tree, ranging from zones 3 through 9
Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate
Mature Shape: Broad, rounded
Height: Varies with species. Often maturing between 50 to 75 feet tall. Capable of growing upwards of 100 feet.
Width:40 to 70 feet. Varies with species
Site Requirements: Best growth in moist, well-drained soils. Adaptable to adverse soil conditions.
Flowering Dates: Spring
What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Mean
Seed Dispersal Dates: Fall
Seed Bearing Age: 20 years
Seed Bearing Frequency: Acorns produced vary from year to year, with larger crops occurring during 'mast year,' every four to ten years.
Seed Stratification: Two to three months at 40° F or they can be set out in the fall for natural stratification and germination in the spring.
The leaves are 4 to 8 inches long, 3-lobed, bristle-tipped, taper to a rounded base, obovate in outline, thick petioles less than 1/2 inch long, top is dark yellow-green, beneath is paler with a tawny colored down.
What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Acorns
Acorns are 3/4 inch long, with a shallow cup shaped like a goblet, and somewhat hairy. The nut is ovoid shape, yellow-brown, and striated. The twigs are thick, dark red-brown and hairy, and the trunk is almost all black with deep grooves and scaly plates.
The blackjack oak is known for growing in barren, dry, sandy, or clay soils. Its range extends from southeastern New York to southern Michigan and Nebraska, south to central Florida and eastern Texas. Blackjack oak can be found in the upland woods of northeast Iowa.