Its close to a slippery elm but I dont think so, What could it be?

Tom1 · July 23, 2008, 12:15:19 AM

Hi, newbie here. My first post 8)

I found this tree in my back yard but am having a hard time labeling it. Any ideas? I'm in SW Missouri. leaves are about 6" long. tree is 8" diameter.

I look forward to any thoughts.

thanks,
Tom

Riles · July 23, 2008, 07:14:47 AM

Welcome to the forum Tom1.

Check for acorns. Looks like a fine example of sawtooth oak, Quercus acutissima.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=67

WDH · July 23, 2008, 07:35:21 AM

My first impression was chinkapin oak, Quercus muhlenbergii, because of the glandular teeth and the scaly white oak type bark.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=244

woodmills1 · July 23, 2008, 07:41:37 AM

Not sure but does look like oak leaf

Any one with a slippery elm, it is the perfect tree for marshmellos over a fire. The bark pulls off clean and easy leaving a smooth stick. Also the inner bark is good for the digestion.

Tom1 · July 23, 2008, 08:27:07 AM

Thanks for the replys. The sawtooth oak looks close. I'll have to see if I get acorns from it. I'll save the VT site for future reference. None of my books show that tree :-\

Tom

WDH · July 23, 2008, 09:59:38 AM

The bark is wrong for sawtooth oak. If the teeth on the leaves do not have a distinct bristle tip or spine, it is wrong for sawtooth oak. I did not see any spines on the teeth in your photo, and the tips of the teeth look slightly swollen (glands) which is what you would see in chinkapin oak.

Dodgy Loner · July 23, 2008, 11:16:21 AM

I agree with WDH, looks like a chinkapin oak to me. Where are you located, Tom1? If you're in the East I'd be about 99% certain that's what it is.

WDH · July 24, 2008, 11:31:01 PM

Chestnut oak bark is decidely unscaley. The tips of the teeth/lobes are not glandular in chestnut oak. It is definitely not chestnut oak. It is good old chinkapin oak. It likes sites with a little higher Ph than many oaks.

SwampDonkey · July 25, 2008, 05:01:25 AM

Chinkapin, only going by the textbook here. We only have a couple oak species up this way.

Lanier_Lurker · July 26, 2008, 12:38:46 AM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on July 25, 2008, 05:01:25 AM
We only have a couple oak species up this way.

Let me take a guess: northern red and white?

(And I assume you mean that they occur naturally)

SwampDonkey · July 26, 2008, 04:48:15 AM

Yes, but not Q. alba. Q. macrocarpa instead for the white variety and is not common. Red oak is mainly along the major rivers and some dry rocky ridges in southern and central regions.

WDH · July 26, 2008, 11:44:33 AM

LL,

Please send this oak deprived man some seedlings ;D.

Lanier_Lurker · July 26, 2008, 01:45:58 PM

This year is shaping up to be a big nut producing year - much like last year.

I should have a bunch of acorns.

SwampDonkey · July 26, 2008, 02:59:28 PM

WDH, don't put the lad through that again. ;)

Hopefully this is a better year for bur oak and possibly my white oak in the yard.

TexasTimbers · July 27, 2008, 10:07:55 PM

The leaf looks exactly like Algerian oak, but not the bark. Reason I say that is because I was looking in my book yesterday while I was in the woods trying to identify that exact leaf. In you picture Tom1 it appears the leaf has sharp points on the lobes but they don't do they? They are more roundish.

Too bad you don't live in N. Africa or SW Eurpoe where the tree grows then we'd know what it was. :

I am undecided on Chinquapin as well at least from holding my book up against the species I felled yesterday that had this same leaf. I was going to take some other of my books into the woods today but never made it back out there. All I knew is that it was one really nice white oak sawlog that I needed.

I agree the bark in that photo does not appear to be a dead ringer for what my book shows. But the photo posted here is lacking enough detail for my untrained eye. With a gun to my head I would throw a pinch of salt over my shoulder and guess Chinquapin, adding that if I was wrong maybe a previous landowner had migrated from Algeira and wanted to see familiar surroundings.

WDH · July 27, 2008, 11:05:42 PM

Algerian oak ???.

TexasTimbers · July 28, 2008, 08:42:06 AM

Quote from: WDH on July 27, 2008, 11:05:42 PM
Algerian oak ???.

:D

Hey it is in one of my books Dubya and that leaf is a dead ringer! The book is less than impressive to me though so it could be less than accurate. I rarely refer to it, but I'll cite it just in case you have it. From the Eyewitness Handbook Series. Trees (what a name for a tree book). Subtitle The visual guide to more than 500 trees from around the world. ISBN 1-56458-075-X Allen J. Coombes ref. pg. 159 bottom right

Tom1 · July 28, 2008, 01:24:54 PM

I went back to the tree and got a couple of better photo's (see below). . I don't thinks its Algerian, leaves are pointier than Algerian. I'm thinking Chinkapin. I scrounged around but could not find any old nuts below the tree. Last year not one of my trees had acorns, the ice storm put a stop to that. This year should be a good year for acorns. Squirrels will be happy. Maybe they'll leave my house alone. I'll keep my eye on this tree and see what it flowers.

Thanks for all the help and comments,

Tom

Brian Beauchamp · July 28, 2008, 03:52:36 PM

Yep...Chinkapin Oak...the late freeze is mostly what got our acorns last year through the region though, but the ice storm didn't help much either. We should have a bumper crop of from the whites this year.

Quote from: Tom1 on July 28, 2008, 01:24:54 PM
I went back to the tree and got a couple of better photo's (see below). . I don't thinks its Algerian, leaves are pointier than Algerian. I'm thinking Chinkapin. I scrounged around but could not find any old nuts below the tree. Last year not one of my trees had acorns, the ice storm put a stop to that. This year should be a good year for acorns. Squirrels will be happy. Maybe they'll leave my house alone. I'll keep my eye on this tree and see what it flowers.

Thanks for all the help and comments,

Tom

Riles · July 28, 2008, 08:30:24 PM

Wow, great pictures! You could teach the Virginia Tech folks a thing or two.

Agree, Chinkapin.

SamB · July 29, 2008, 02:29:41 PM

I deleted my earlier post on this thread, which was an uneducated guess of Chestnut or Rock Oak. The way it was worded may have implied a level of expertise that I don't have. Don't want to ruffle any feathers or belittle anyones education or experience. Being as I'm a 2 finger typist I try to keep my statements short. According to the 2 books I use to identify trees Chinkapin Oak is sometimes referred to as rock oak, yellow chestnut oak or yellow oak. The pictures of Chinkapin Oak in my books show a thinner scaly bark very similar to white oaks in this area. The Chestnut Oaks I'm used to seeing have a deeper/thicker bark but similar to the subject tree. According to my ID books both chestnut and chinkapin are marketed as low grade white oak. Must be similar products once the bark is removed? I would assume elevation and length of growing season would effect appearence?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

SwampDonkey · July 29, 2008, 04:05:49 PM

Dodgy revived an old thread Jeff began some time ago on this very subject. Jeff was quoting some phrases from an old forestry buff from the 1920's I believe.