| swamp laurel oak Quercus laurifolia Fagaceae (red oak) |
Leaves are simple, alternate, tardily deciduous, variable in shape and size ranging from spatulate, oblanceolate, to obovate, up to 4 inches long, and apex with a bristle tip. Leaves are occasionally shallowly lobed. Bark is gray-black and furrowed often showing white ridges on smaller stems. On larger trees bark becomes brown and blocky. Fruit is an acorn less that 1 inch long with the cap covering up to half of the acorn and maturing in two growing seasons. Swamp laurel oak is distinguished from laurel oak by greater variability in leaf shape, darker and more furrowed bark on large trees, and habitat. Swamp laurel oak is found on bottomland sites in the coastal plain.
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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for
commercial use in any form. All photographs are copyrighted by the named
photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved.
Photographs by Mike Hogan.
