Identifying Characteristics
| Size/Form: | Shumard oak is a large tree that often grows to heights of 80' to 125'. It has a slightly buttressed trunk and broad, open crown. |
| Leaves: | Leaves are simple, alternate, and deciduous. Leaves are 6 to 8 inches long, 4 to 5 inches wide, overall oval-shaped, with an acute apex. Leaf bases are wedge-shaped or flattened. Each leaf has from 5 to 7 rounded lobes with bristle-like tips. Leaves are dark green and smooth on the upper surface and are of paler color underneath, with scattered deposits of brownish, waxy hairs. Leaf petioles are slender, glabrous, and about 2 inches long. |
| Twigs: | The twigs are moderately stout, glabrous, and gray-brown. The pith is star-shaped and homogeneous. |
| Bark: | The lower bark is thick, dark and deeply furrowed, with lighter colored, scaly ridges. Bark nearer to the top of the tree is smoother in texture. |
| Flowers: | The unisexual, monoecious are not very showy. |
| Fruit: | The fruit is an acorn about 1" long, with striping along the sides. It is partially covered by a slightly hairy, saucer-shaped cup. They occur alone in pairs and are oblong to ovoid-shaped |
| Similar Trees on the Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest List: There are three other trees on our list that have simple, alternate, pinnately-lobed leaves. |
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