Quercus montana (Basket Oak, Chestnut Oak, Oaks, Rock Chestnut Oak, Rock Oak) - 7 Photos - Quercus/montana/Fagaceae - Plant Profile

Attributes

Used as fence posts, fuel, railroad ties and tannin extract used in processing leather

Mid to southeastern U.S.A.

Maine south to Georgia west to Louisianna to Mississippi north to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan throughout the New England States.

Wildlife Value:

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. Important food source for songbirds, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, mice, deer, and other mammals

Life Cycle:

Woody

Recommended Propagation Strategy:

Seed

Play Value:

Wildlife Food Source

Fruit

Fruit Description:

1-1.5-inch acorn with a reddish-brown cup with fused scales that covers 1/3 the length of the acorn. They appear singly or in pairs in the fall and are stalkless or nearly so. In North Carolina, acorns are available from September to November.

Fruit Type:

Nut

Fruit Color:

Red/Burgundy

Brown/Copper

Display/Harvest Time:

Fall

Fruit Length:

1-3 inches

Fruit Width:

1-3 inches

Flowers

Flower Description:

Male flowers are yellow-green in catkins. Female flowers are on short stalks. Generally blooms in spring but in North Carolina, flowers are available in April.

Flower Color:

Gold/Yellow

Green

Flower Inflorescence:

Insignificant

Catkin

Flower Bloom Time:

Spring

Leaves

Leaf Description:

4-8 inch long oval dark green leaves have a pointed tip and are coarsely toothed (some say shallowly lobed). The undersides are gray-green with hairs. Reddish-yellow fall foliage.

Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:

Deciduous

Leaf Color:

Green

Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:

Brown/Copper

Gold/Yellow

Red/Burgundy

Leaf Type:

Simple

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate