All my life I knew what this was - but maybe not . . .
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39962/Lov-09.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1557513203)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39962/Lov-08.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1557513202)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39962/Lov-05.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1557513202)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39962/Lov-02.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1557513201)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39962/Lov-03.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1557513200)
Water oak, Quercus nigra
Edit;
Here's a good page;
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/quercus-nigra/ (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/quercus-nigra/)
That's exactly what I said to my computer before I saw Don's response. @WDH (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=4370) showed me a bunch of them at Jakes last month.
Clearly a water oak. Thanks.
Ncsu link has good info. Also found a WDH post from 2007 that went into great detail about variations due to habitat. Very informative.
———
I got some bad info a long time ago.
I used to expound on this stuff in my younger, more foolish years :).
You did some pretty good expounding last month. ;D
That Caveman was the expoundiferous one.
Those leaf pictures are perfect representations of what water oak should look like but often they are more variable, especially on new growth. My middlest daughter (former FFA forestry team member) just read my post over my shoulder and began to mock me. No respect, I say.
The water oak will also have small tufts of pubescence (hair) between the veins on the back side of the leaves-otherwise they will be smooth. The new growth will usually have bristle tips on the leaves. The leaves become entire as they mature to look like the ones posted by Btulloh, no points or teeth. Water oaks, like others in the red oak group will have multiple buds at the termination of each branch.
I cut a relatively large water oak down and cut it into pieces that my tractor could lift. The butt log was streaming water out at a rate that allowed me to fill a solo cup in a minute or two. Being curious, I drank it. For those who are wondering, it was none too good; very bitter.
Sometimes post oak leaves will resemble the shape of water oak leaves but the back side of post oak leaves are fuzzy (pubescent) and will adhere to a cotton shirt.
WDH, Sticks and stones may.... ;D
I am curious @btulloh (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=29962) what were you told it was? Of course prior to April I would have guessed something along the line of SYP :D
Live oak. By a trusted authority. More than one actually.
Neither are normally found around here. The limbs sort of look like live oak so it seemed plausible.
There's no pin oak right here but north of the river there's lots of it. Just ten miles.
We have pin oak down this way. Now you have me curious, did your tree keep its leaves all year?
No - it didn't keep its leaves. Should have made me wonder I s'pose, but I'm just not that tuned in to live oak.
Maybe the pin oaks don't like to grow between the Appomattox and the James. ;) I don't recall seeing pin oaks up and down Rt 60, but then again there might be a lot I haven't noticed. The bark tends to stand out, but only if I'm paying attention.
I'll have to ask the state forester about the pin oak distribution the next time I see him. Problem is he stays so busy now that I don't see him as often as I used to. His area keeps expanding.
There are quite a few of the water oaks here, but they are all around the edge of the field. I can't recall seeing one in the woods. Most are fairly small - 6-8 inches. The one in the picture is the largest - maybe 12-13" or so. We had a large nursery on our west flank for a hundred years. Over the years the birds have brought over some things that weren't native.
Btulloh,
sometimes the water oaks and live oaks can be a little challenging to differentiate. A few ways to tell them apart:
-the leaves of the live oak are revolute, or curl at the edges-think live oak, life boat
-the leaves of the live oak, when they mature, are much more leathery feeling
-water oak leaves are textured a lot like northern red oak, shumard oak, laurel oak and white oak
-color is usually the last and least reliable leaf characteristic but the leaves of the live oak will typically be a much darker green than those of water oaks
-water oak bark is not as rough or fissured as live oak bark. water oak bark is similar to laurel oak and shumard oak bark while live oak bark is perfect to scratch one's itchy back on
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/image~15.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1455311724)
example of live oak bark (gate included pun)
Water oak leaves will be basically the same color green on the top and bottom. Live oak leaves will be deep glossy green on top, but the underside is a very dull greenish brown. Very striking color difference.
The bark on large live oaks gets decidedly knobby.
Apparently the bark also gets quite gatey too. :D
Next time someone asks me how to ID live oak, I will say that sometimes it has a big gate sticking out of it :D.
:D :D :D :D
English teacher to student: Use the word irony in a sentence.
Student: That live oak wood be irony.
We're just about ready to work in a food reference . . .
Landowner to sawyer: There is no metal in this log....
:D :D :D
That ain't pin oak. Pin oak is a dirty word to me.
Quote from: btulloh on May 11, 2019, 08:23:06 AM
We're just about ready to work in a food reference . . .
Live oak make excellent bbq wood.
Its water oak.