Tuesday's Trees- Swamp Chestnut Oak or Swamp White Oak?

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

As I take my dogs for a walk up and down our street I look at the trees. I am always checking out the trees. Besides the pines, the tree family that occurs most frequently in my little world is the Oak family- Quercus. Many are the Willow Oak that I have already posted about. There are a couple White Oak, multiple Oaks in the Red Oak classification. I am still trying to distinguish between a Southern Red Oak and a Pin Oak. I must have a mental block on this one. The other Oak present is the Swamp Chestnut Oak, Quercus michauxii.

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

There is also a Swamp Chestnut Oak in the Learning Garden. This is my example plant. One of the things that really stands out on the bark, it is very similar to the White Oak. It is pale gray with thick irregular ridges. As you look higher into the tree the bark appears in large flakes, lifting from the trunk.

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

Another very noticeable feature is the dark green leaf on this tree is large, quite large, 4- 9 inches. It is oval getting wider at the tip, rough, with rounded teeth along the wavy edges. The fall color is a lovely bronze red that finally turns brown before falling. It is an alternate leaf pattern.

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

The Swamp Chestnut Oak is hardy to zones 5-8. It grows to heights of 60- 80 feet with a spread of up to 70 feet. The trunk is straight and the branching form is oval to rounded and densely branched. As other oaks it is monoecious. Its acorns mature in one season which is a feature of the white oak classification. As it is a sweeter nut many animals have it as a food source.

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

Another name for the Swamp Chestnut Oak is Basket Oak as the strong fibers of this tree are used in basket making. The lumber is hard and used in flooring and furniture making.

You may be wondering why I have included the Swamp White Oak in this posting. The Swamp White Oak, Quercus bicolor, has similar bark features to the Q. michauxii as well as large oval shaped leaves. This Swamp Oak has lobes instead of wavy ridges. There is one tree on my street that has all the other features of a Swamp Chestnut Oak but has lobes instead of wavy edges on the leaves. You may recall in a previous post that some oaks will cross hybridize. The Swamp Chestnut is one of these. White Oak is the one from the previous posting. I cannot be sure if this one tree is a Swamp White Oak or perhaps a deeper waved Swamp Chestnut Oak or a cross breed from the White Oaks and the Swamp Chestnut Oak in the area.


This is the tree in question's leaf- Swamp White Oak??  See the lobes?

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

And the bark on the tree in question--

From swamp chestnut oak swamp white oak Learning Garden

Another large leafed Oaks is the Chinkapin Oak . I have read about native ranges and growing conditions so I am fairly certain it is not a Chinkapin.
Sites for Quercus michauxii include-
Virginia Tech Swamp Chestnut Oak short description, easy to read
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Swamp Chestnut Oak- good info with a comparison to White Swamp Oak
Floridata Swamp Chestnut Oak- lots of great information with more detail
Vanderbilt Swamp Chestnut Oak- comparison feature to compare to other oaks
University of Florida 4-H Swamp Chestnut Oak- another good site for brief description
Forestry Department Swamp Chestnut Oak- the scientific description and great detail. Native range shown.
NCState Swamp Chestnut Oak – brief info sheet


And sites for the Quercus bicolor-
University of Florida Forestry Dept. Swamp White Oak- Forestry Department write up about the tree
Virginia Tech White Swamp Oak= brief info sheet
Forestry Department White Swamp Oak- scientific description and lots of detail
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Swamp White Oak- easy to read description with photos
Vanderbilt Swamp White Oak – good photos
See if you can decide!

Last I want to share bark differences of three oaks--- a neighbor's trees all lined up in his garden show the differences between Swamp Chestnut Oak, Willow Oak and a Red (or Pin) Oak. Be sure to enlarge this photo to see the differences.


Next week's tree- Sassafras