Quercus coccinea


Quercus coccinea, the scarlet oak, is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. The scarlet oak can be mistaken for the pin oak, the black oak, or occasionally the red oak. On scarlet oak the sinuses between lobes are "C"-shaped in comparison to pin oak, which has "U"-shaped sinuses and the acorns are half covered by a deep cap.
Scarlet oak is mainly native to the central and eastern United States, from southern Maine west to Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, and south as far as Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. It occurs on dry, sandy, usually acidic soils. It is often an important canopy species in an oak–heath forest.

Description

Quercus coccinea is a medium-large deciduous tree growing to 20–30 m tall with an open, rounded crown.
The leaves are glossy green, 7–17 cm long and 8–13 cm broad, lobed, with seven lobes, and deep sinuses between the lobes. Each lobe has 3–7 bristle-tipped teeth. The leaf is hairless. The common English name is derived from the autumn coloration of the foliage, which generally becomes bright scarlet; in contrast, pin oak foliage generally turns bronze in autumn.
The acorns are ovate, 7–13 mm broad and 17–31 mm long, a third to a half covered in a deep cup, green maturing pale brown about 18 months after pollination; the kernel is very bitter.

Image:Quercus coccineum spring foliage and flower.jpg|Foliage and male flower in May, Exbury, UK
File:2014-11-02 11 42 07 Scarlet Oak foliage during autumn along Lower Ferry Road in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG|Autumn foliage, Ewing, New Jersey

Uses

Scarlet oak is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree, popular for its bright red fall color. The cultivar 'Splendens' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.