This tree is similar to another tree I posted, but I have better shots of this one.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16089/Tree%20id%2012b.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16089/Tree%20id%2012a.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16089/Tree%20id%2012c.jpg)
That one is definitely willow oak, Quercus phellos. Notice how the leaves are much longer than wider. Laurel oak will be wider and shorter.
Nice squirrel nest, too ::).
GW, you take excellent pics ;D.
Thanks WDH, I try. :)
Hmmm...I'm not ready to close the books on this one just yet. Those leaves look conspicuously dark and glossy - an evergreen, perhaps? Most of the leaves are also widest above the middle. I'm gonna have to go with laurel oak on this one...or for the "splitters" in the forum, it's a Darlington oak (Quercus hemisphaerica)
You might be right, DL. The leaves do look leathery, but they are also very willow-oaky in shape. Here is a website that may only confuse the situation.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/WO018
http://www.ibiblio.org/botnet/flora/images/Quercus_hemisphaerica002.jpg
I am leaning your way because of the apparent thickness of the leaves.
Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States also gives an excellent description of the differences between Q. laurifolia and Q. hemisphaerica. Both of them were very common around our home in Portal, and they were very easy to tell apart, which is why I think that they're definitely two different taxa. I usually refer to them as Darlington oak (Q. hemisphaerica) and diamond leaf oak (Q. laurifolia) to avoid confusion of the two. Most people use the term "laurel oak" to refer to either of the two species.
Diamond leaf oak was usually straighter and better-formed than Darlington oak. It's form was more similar to a willow oak. Darlington oaks tended to be shorter, branchier, and with a very rounded crown (like the first of GW's pictures). Of course, that might be a result of the better sites that diamond leaf and willow oaks grow on (they are both typical floodplain species). Darlington oaks tend to grow more often on drier, sandy soils.
Quote from: Dodgy Loner on July 30, 2007, 02:44:30 PM
[ I usually refer to them as Darlington oak (Q. hemisphaerica) and diamond leaf oak (Q. laurifolia) to avoid confusion of the two. Most people use the term "laurel oak" to refer to either of the two species.
I am one of the "most people". I learned
Quercus laurifolia as one species, now it is subdivided into two (however, I refer to Laurel Oak to include both species).
To shed some more light on Willow Oak versus Laurel Oak, I thought that I would post some pics:
Willow Oak:Leaves many many times longer than broad
Generally a lighter green in color
Petiole more brown, definitely not distinctly yellow
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1746.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1755.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1745.JPG)
Laurel Oak:Leaves several times longer than broad
Darker green, leathery-like on top. Paler green on bottom
Petioles distinctly yellow
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1751.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1750.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1758.JPG)
Willow Oak and Laurel Oak Side-by-Side: (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1753.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14370/IMG_1752.JPG)
Great pics, WDH. I think the thick, glossy leaves and yellow petioles that are apparent in your photos of laurel oak are most similar to GW's pictures (you can just barely make out the yellow petioles in his second photo).
I concur with you DL. Good old laurel oak..............or Darlington Laurel Oak for the splitters :D.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16089/Tree%20id%2012d.jpg)
;)
Look at that beautiful yellow petiole :D. They don't get any yellower than that one. You must be proud of such a fine specimen, GW ;D. I hope to meet that tree one day (you and Cindy too, GW ::)).
WDH, I'm anxious to show off some trees. :)