Willow Oak?

[Dav4]

This is a volunteer that was growing in my heavily wooded backyard when we bought the house 4 years ago. It was growing on a steep hill that I cleared, along with chestnut and white oaks, tulip poplar, sourwood, and virginia and loblolly pines. The foliage certainly reminds me of Willow Oak, as does the bark, but I haven't seen any mature specimens any where near my property, and I always thought willow oaks prefered moister soils, which my backyard most definately doesn't have. So, what do you think?

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Dav4,

It appears to me to be a willow oak. Willow oak ends up just about anywhere and can grow about anywhere. The willow part of the common name is based on the leaf size and shape, not on a need for wet growing conditions.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Dav4]

Dav4,

It appears to me to be a willow oak. Willow oak ends up just about anywhere and can grow about anywhere. The willow part of the common name is based on the leaf size and shape, not on a need for wet growing conditions.

Regards,
Martin

Thanks Martin. I wasn't under the impression that willow oaks would only be found along water ways or in lowland areas, like weeping willows, but I figured they'd prefer more moisture at the roots then what the trees in my backyard get in July and August...steep hill with extremely thin top soil over rock. Anyway, thanks for confirming the ID. Now, to find it's mother...they're really one of my favorite native oaks.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Dav4,

I agree, willow oak is way under-utilized as a bonsai material. I have a few seedlings that came up as volunteers in some pots. I need to find some larger material to dig.

Regards,
Martin

 

[mcpesq817]

I'd love to see more willow oak used also. They are used as landscape trees around here all over the place, and have pretty incredible bark. I've been working on one for the past two and a half years from 25' nursery stock.

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?11382-Willow-Oak&p=144740#post144740

 

[NewWorldBonsai]

We call all these scrub oaks or Water Oaks. It's most likely a cross breed between a number of species.

After a hard cutback the leaves will be a lot more spiked and dentate until the mature foliage comes in.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

NewWorldBonsai,

Willow Oak(Quercas phellos) and Water Oak(Quercas nigra) are separate species, Scrub oak can be a number of different species:

California Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia)
Leather Oak (Quercus durata)
Coastal Scrub Oak (Quercus dumosa)
Tucker Oak (Quercus john-tuckeri)
Island Scrub Oak (Quercus pacifica)
Santa Cruz Island Oak (Quercus parvula)
Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii)
Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia)
Sonoran Scrub Oak (Quercus turbinella)
Chapman Oak (Quercus chapmanii)
Myrtle Oak (Quercus myrtifolia)
Sandhill Oak (Quercus inopina)
Sand Live Oak (Quercus geminata)

To your point, common names can be misleading in any discussion of widespread plant species. I have often thought that willow and water oaks cross pollinated and made some funky-leaved babies.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Dav4]

There are a fair number of water oaks in the area, but the foliage on this one is really just like that on a willow oak. I hadn't thought about a hybrid, though. Thanks for the info.

 

[subnet_rx]

It looks to me like a water oak as well. I recently got a willow oak for a future bonsai project, and the leaves are all very consistently thin and straight. Water oak can have leaves of many different shapes when it's young, but become more consistent with age. I've read that the variation depends on environmental conditions.