Plant ID

BOTANICAL NAME:            Quercus palustris                

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Pin Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  4-8

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, 3-6″ long, cuneate/truncate base, glossy dark green, lighter beneath, deeply cut, pointed, 5-7 U-shaped lobes not directly across from each other, lobe edges parallel to each other, petiole up to 2″ long, blade often V-shaped @ attachment with petiole, yellow/reddish then brown fall color, many plants hold leaves through winter!

FLOWERS:                                                                                       see Q. bicolor           

FRUIT:                                                           1/2″ roundish, striped nut, thin saucer at base w/ red-brown appressed scales, cap encloses 1/3 of nut, ripens 2^nd year

BARK:                                                            brownish grey, with age shallow furrows; stems:  slender, red-brown & lustrous (or greenish – esp. in 2nd year)

SEASONAL VALUE:           form, lawn tree (drooping branches) persistent foliage

HEIGHT:   50-80′                                                                                           SPREAD:   25-40′                           GROWTH:  Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                                           slender and pyramidal in youth, open and round with age, lower branches drooping, middle horizontal & upper ascending

SOIL:                                                                          tolerates wet soil, but best in rich, acid, WD; not real drought tolerant, alkaline soils cause chlorosis (Fe chelate every 3 years)

PRUNING:                                        corrective, retain central leader

PESTS:                                                          Aphid, mites, Armillaria, if drooping lower branches are a problem, good luck trying to rid yourself of these

PROPAGATION:                  seeds

COMMENTS:                                    – native to NE United States; pollution tolerant

- branch clearance problems: often if lowest branches are removed the next lowest whorl droops; not good for median strips, parking lots or too near pedestrian walkways

- Buds:  tiny, pointed, chestnut brown, NO hairs

BOTANICAL NAME:            Quercus phellos                  

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Willow Oak

HARDINESS ZONE:           USDA:  5-9

Sunset:  1-4, 6-16, 18-21

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, leaves  2″ – 5 ” long, 1/3 – 1″ wide, entire, slightly wavy, bristle tipped, light green and shiny above, oblong lanceolate to linear-oblong, yellow/orange fall color, persistent,

FLOWERS:                           see Q. bicolor

FRUIT:                                   acorns, small (1/2” or less) rounded, black/brown stipes, shallow

cup enclosing 1/4 of the nut

BARK:                                                            smooth grey; stems – slender, smooth, reddish to dark brown, slightly lustrous

SEASONAL VALUE:           soft foliage, lawn tree

HEIGHT:    50-90′                                                                             SPREAD: 50′ +                                              GROWTH:Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                   deciduous tree, rounded form, fine texture

SOIL:                                                                          prefers slightly acidic, moist, well-drained (wet & drought tolerant)

PRUNING:                            corrective, retain central leader

PESTS:                                  Aphids, mites, Armillaria

PROPAGATION:                  seeds

COMMENTS:                        native to eastern United States

shallow root system

Buds:  ovoid, sharp pointed, chestnut

BOTANICAL NAME:       Quercus robur

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           English Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  4-8

Sunset:  2-12, 14-21

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, obovate, 2-4″ long, 2″ wide, entire, base of leaf looks like ear lobe, medium green turn brown in fall;  persistent

FLOWERS:                                       see Q. bicolor

FRUIT:                                                           acorn 3/4 – 1 1/4″ long, oblong on long stalks, shiny brown, cap encloses 1/3 of nut, matures in 1^st year

BARK:                                    black, deep furrows; stems: reddish brown (purplish) & angled

SEASONAL VALUE:           parks & large areas

HEIGHT:   50-70′                                                                              SPREAD: 60’                                                GROWTH:  Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                                           large, massive, broadly rounded; pyramidal in youth

SOIL:                                                                          well-drained, pH tolerant, deep soil; drought tolerant

PRUNING:                                        retain central leader

PESTS:                                                          gall forming insect, oak scale, mildew

PROPAGATION:                  seed

COMMENTS:                                    Native to Europe

Extremely long lived (800+ years)

Buds:  plump, rounded, fringed w/ hairs

BOTANICAL NAME:              Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Pyramidal English Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  4-8

Sunset:  2-12, 14-21

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, obovate, 2-4″ long, 2″ wide, entire, base of leaf looks like ear lobe, medium green turn brown in fall;  persistent

FLOWERS:                                       see Q. bicolor

FRUIT:                                                           acorn 3/4 – 1 1/4″ long, oblong on long stalks, shiny brown, cap encloses 1/3 of nut, matures in 1^st year

BARK:                                    black, deep furrows; stems: reddish brown (purplish) & angled

SEASONAL VALUE:           specimen, parking lot, upright growth

HEIGHT:   50-70′                                                                              SPREAD: 10-15′                                          GROWTH:  Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                                           dense columnar shape, persistent leaves, narrow crotch angles, (shaped like Lombardy Poplar)

SOIL:                                                                          well-drained, pH tolerant, deep soil  (drought tolerant)

PRUNING:                                        retain central leader

PESTS:                                                          gall forming insect, oak scale, mildew

PROPAGATION:                  grafted onto English Oak seedlings

COMMENTS:                                    Native to Europe

Parking lot or street tree

Species is extremely long lived (800+ years)

Buds:  plump, rounded, fringed w/ hairs

BOTANICAL NAME:            Quercus rubra 

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Northern Red Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  3-7 (8)

Sunset:  1-12, 14-24

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, leaves 4-9″ long, 4-6″ wide, cuneate, 7-11 “C” or “V” shaped lobes, lobes cut no more than ½ way to midrib, shiny dark green above, lighter beneath, axillary tufts. Red midrib & petiole, deep red to brown in fall.

FLOWERS:                                                   emerge w/ leaves:  male is drooping catkin, female 1 to many flowered spikes

FRUIT:                                                           nut, solitary or paired 3/4″-1″ long, enclosed at base with soft, flat, saucer-like cup, which is < ¼ thick

BARK:                                                            ridges and fissures especially on older trees, dark-black; stems are stout green to reddish brown

SEASONAL VALUE:           form, Fall color

(esp. when young; up to 8’/yr)

HEIGHT:   60-75′                   SPREAD:   40-50′                           GROWTH:  Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                   deciduous, rounded, course texture

SOIL:                                                                          prefers rich, well-drained, slightly acidic, drought tolerant

PRUNING:                                                    corrective, retain central leader

PESTS:                                                          relatively pest free, anthracnose, leaf blister, Oak Wilt is a serious problem in Midwest; check P.P. Pirone book, Tree Maintenance

PROPAGATION:                  seed

COMMENTS:                                    -Chlorosis in soils with high pH (> 6.0)

-native to eastern half of N. America

-largest leaf of it, Q. palustris & Q. coccinea

-Buds:  3/8” long, pointed, chestnut to reddish-brown, few hairs at tip

-pollution tolerant

BOTANICAL NAME:            Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Weeping European Beech

HARDINESS ZONE:           USDA:  4-7

Sunset:  1-9, 14-24

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, 2-4″ long, 12-22″ wide. 5-9 pair of veins, petiole 1/4 – 1/2″ long, fall golden/bronze fall color, glabrous, green

FLOWERS:                           male – round heads 2-4 flowered spikes, April to May, not showy

FRUIT:                                   nut, 4 parted, dehiscent

BARK:                                                            smooth, grey, darker than F. grandifolia, developing small wrinkles like elephant hide

SEASONAL VALUE:           large deciduous shade tree, specimen with pendulous form

HEIGHT: 50-60′                                                                                                        SPREAD:  30-50′ ++                                     GROWTH:Fast/Mod/Slow    Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                                           pendulous deciduous tree, 60° – 45° lateral branches with pendulous branchlets

SOIL:                                      no soil compaction, moist, well drained, slightly acidic

PRUNING:                            corrective

PESTS:                                  scale, mildew

PROPAGATION:                  grafted

COMMENTS:                        no extreme heat

needs room

plant at Hunnewell Estate, Wellesley, Massachusetts

‘Purpurea Pendula’ is slow grower to 10’ & mushroom shape

BOTANICAL NAME:            Lithocarpus densiflorus  

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Tanbark Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  7

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, evergreen, elliptic, oblong, 5″ long, serrate or entire, straight sunken veins, rusty tomentose on emergence, becoming glabrous on the top of the leaf, hairy rusty or whitish beneath, petiole tomentose

FLOWERS:                                                   monoecious, 3-4” upright catkins bare males in dense cluster on upper 2/3rds of spike (odd odor), females at base of catkin

FRUIT:                                                           bitter acorn w/ shallow, spiny cup; nut partially enclosed, matures second year.

BARK:                                                            reddish brown, deeply fissured into squarish plates, rich in tannin; stems at first pubescent, then dark reddish brown w/ glaucous bloom

SEASONAL VALUE:           large tree, evergreen, native

HEIGHT:   60-80′                  SPREAD: 40-70′                              GROWTH: Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

(growth reduced in shade)

HABIT:                                   evergreen tree, large dense crown, low branching

SOIL:                                      acidic, moist, well-drained, heat & drought tolerant

PRUNING:                                                    corrective

PESTS:                                                          relatively pest free

PROPAGATION:                  seed

COMMENTS:                                    native from SW Oregon to Northern California

Bark was used for tanning leather

Not a true Oak – botanically between Oaks and Chestnuts

Natives subsisted on these acorns

BOTANICAL NAME:            Quercus coccinea   

FAMILY: Fagaceae

COMMON NAME(S):           Scarlet Oak

HARDINESS/ZONE:           USDA:  4-9

FOLIAGE:                                                      alternate, simple, bright green, 6″ long, 2 1/2″ – 41/2″ wide, deeply cut and pointed lobes, C shaped lobes w/ rounded sinuses, 7-9 bristle tipped lobes, cuneate at base, blade flat at site of attachment to petiole, scarlet fall color

FLOWERS:                                                                                       see Q. bicolor           

FRUIT:                                                           short stalked cupped nutlet, 1/2 – 1″ long, solitary or paired, 1/3 – 1/2 enclosed in bowl-like cup, concentric rings near base, cap scales look varnished, ripens 2^nd year.

BARK:                                                            brown grey fissured trunk; stem: red-brown & angled with dotted small, grey lenticels; older stems green w/ luster

SEASONAL VALUE:           street or lawn tree, Fall color, form

HEIGHT:   60-80′                                                                              SPREAD: 40-50′                                          GROWTH: Fast/Mod/Slow

Sun/Part Shade/Shade

HABIT:                                                           deciduous tree, pyramidal in youth – very rounded with age, open branching habit

SOIL:                                                                          deep rich, slightly acidic, does well on dry, sandy soils

PRUNING:                                                    corrective

PESTS:                                                          aphid, mite, Armillaria, not susceptible to as much chlorosis and Q. palustris

PROPAGATION:                              seeds

COMMENTS:                                    native to eastern United States.

garden and turf water is fine.

beautiful fall color.

Buds:  blunt, rugby ball, woolly above middle