Identifying Water Oak (Quercus nigra)

[limbrat]

Does water oak have a low land cousin? I noticed some real big burly ugly ones this weekend in a area that gets a couple of feet of standing water a couple of times a year for a couple of weeks at a time. Or is it growing conditions that make them look like halloween trees?

[WDH]

There are two other lowland oaks that are somewhat similiar to water oak.  Willow oak (Quercus phellos) has a leaf that looks like a black willow.  The leaf is not lobed and is much longer than wide.  The shape is very uniform, and comes to a point, unlike water oak with the spatula shaped leaf widest at the tip.

The other oak is laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), and there is a bunch of it in LA.  The leaf is also more regular in shape and is not distinctly widest at the tip like water oak.  The leaf is much fatter in the middle than willow oak.  Also, the petioles are yellow, a very helpful feature in ID. 

Water oak will grow in a wet bottom too, so it could be any of the three.

[limbrat]

I will get back out there next weekend to have a better look and get the last of the mayhaws if there are any left.

[WDH]

Look for that yellow petiole .