Quercus cerris (Moss-Cupped Oak, Oaks, Turkey Oak) - 3 Photos - Quercus/cerris/Fagaceae - Plant Profile

Attributes

Europe, Western Asia

Oak trees support a wide variety of Lepidopteran. You may see Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), which have one flight from June-August everywhere but Florida where they emerge April-May. Edward's Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii), has one flight from May-July in the south and June-July in the north. Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), has three to four flights in the south from February-November and two flights in the north from May-September. White-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) has three broods in the north from February-October. Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) has three broods in Texas and the deep south from January-November, and two broods in the north from April-September. Juvenal’s Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) has one brood from April-June, appearing as early as January in Florida. Acorns are a fall and winter food source for some mammals.

Life Cycle:

Woody

Fruit

Fruit Description:

The acorns are .5 to 1 inch long in groups of 1-4 with cups that cover 1/2 of the nut. Cup is bristly and fringed. Matures in 18 months.

Fruit Type:

Nut

Fruit Color:

Brown/Copper

Fruit Value To Gardener:

Showy

Fruit Length:

< 1 inch

Fruit Width:

< 1 inch

Flowers

Flower Description:

Yellow-green male catkins. Female flowers in small clusters.

Flower Color:

Gold/Yellow

Green

Flower Inflorescence:

Insignificant

Catkin

Flower Bloom Time:

Spring

Leaves

Leaf Description:

4"-5" long rough dark green lanceolate to oblong leaves. Margins are entire or toothed and have 3-8 pairs of lobes. Acute apex, base rounded to truncated. Hairs present on the undersides along the veins. They stay on the tree into late fall with little fall color.

Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:

Deciduous

Leaf Color:

Green

Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:

Insignificant

Leaf Type:

Simple

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Shape:

Lanceolate

Oblanceolate

Leaf Margin:

Entire

Lobed

Dentate

Hairs Present:

No

Leaf Length:

3-6 inches

Leaf Feel:

Rough

Bark

Bark Description:

Dark gray ridged and furrowed bark reveals an orange color within its fissures

Bark Color:

Dark Gray

Surface/Attachment:

Fissured

Furrowed

Stem

Stem Description:

The young shoots are gray and tomentose. The branches have raised leaf scars. The buds are small and reddish-brown in clusters and the bud scales extend beyond the bud. Each bud has more than three scales.

Gray/Silver

No

Hairy (pubescent)

Scaly

Cluster of terminal buds

Stem Bud Scales:

Enclosed in more than 2 scales

Poisonous to Humans

Poison Symptoms:

Abdominal pain, constipation then diarrhea (occasionally bloody), depression, frequent urination, discolored urine, jaundice; acorns can obstruct the digestive tract

Poison Toxic Principle:

Gallotannin

Poison Severity:

Low

Causes Contact Dermatitis:

No

Whole Plant Traits

Plant Type:

Tree