Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Leaves are simple, alternate, thin, deciduous, up to 5 inches long and 1 inch wide, and with yellow tufts of hair on the midrib.  The leaf base and tip are somewhat tapered.  Terminal buds are small, brown, smooth and pointed.  Bark is gray-brown and smooth becoming shallowly fissured with age.  Fruit is an acorn 1/4 to 1/2 inches long with the green-brown, saucer-like cap covering up to 1/4 of the nut, maturing in two seasons.  Willow oak is found on moist to wet sites in the eastern U.S. and is intolerant of shade.  Willow oak is distinguished from laurel oak by a thinner and generally longer leaf, and often with hair on the midrib. The wood is used as red oak lumber and for fuel.  Acorns eaten by game birds, deer, and many small mammals.

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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.  Form photo by Mike Golden.