Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) COSEWIC update status report: chapter 3

Species Information

Name and classification

Scientific name:

Quercus shumardii Buckl.

Synonym:

Quercus texana Buckl.; Quercus schneckii Britt.

Common name:

Shumard Oak

Family:

Fagaceae (Beech family)

Major plant group:

dicot flowering plant

Description

A large tree with massive limbs and an open, wide-spreading canopy. Older specimens have a heavily buttressed trunk that is covered with dark grey furrowed bark. The bark of younger limbs has smooth light grey bark. Branchlets are reddish or greyish brown; terminal buds are oval, pointed and grey. The leaves are 5-7 lobed with the lobes cut more than half way to the midrib; the upper surface is lustrous and the lower has conspicuous tufts of hair in the axils of the veins. Leaves turn a deep wine red in the fall. Acorns are about 2.5 cm long and enclosed by a shallow flat-topped grey cup (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Acorn and leafy branch of Shumard Oak (Susan Laurie-Bourque, courtesy ofCanadianMuseumof Nature)

Figure 1. Acorn and leafy branch of Shumard Oak (Susan Laurie-Bourque, courtesy ofCanadianMuseumof Nature).

In a study of Shumard Oak in Essex County, Morsink & Pratt (1984) suggest that some of the known sites of the oak may in fact represent hybrids with other members of the Red Oak/Black Oak group. Waldron (pers. com., to M. Oldham, 1998) disagrees and thinks that few of the sites are hybrid trees and for those that are there are good Shumard Oak trees nearby.

Page details

Date modified: