Southern Red Oak

Quercus falcata

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

▲ mature tree

▲ young tree

▲▼  leaves

▲▼  leaves

▲▼ trunk and bark (young tree above, mature tree below)

Location near Missouri State University campus: at Close Park at Botanical Center

Quercus falcata:  Southern Red Oak

·         leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, with deep lobes more toward upper portion of leaf than base

·         stems reddish brown, angled, pubescent

·         bark is brown, shallowly furrowed; has upright branching growth habit

·         found native in dry, infertile soils, and in bottomland (var. pagodifolia—also has more deeply lobed leaves)

·         fast growth rate, native to southeast Missouri