Black Oak
Quercus velutina
Description:
A medium to large tree that prefers well-drained upland soils. The inner bark (when cut with a knife) ranges from yellow to orange. Acorns may occasinally drop early, and are a valuable food source for wildlife, especially when they are the primary acorn in the area.
Habitat:
Dry or rocky upland soils, rocky or sandy lowland soils.
Leaf:
Glossy green, 5 to 9 lobes, often very large. Underside of leaf may have a varying amount of pubescense (fuzz), often concentrated between the veins, but sometimes covering most of the undersurface of the leaf. Sinuses often reach past 1/2 way to the midvein.
Bark:
Gray to almost black, with coarse ridges and grooves running vertically. Occasionally, the ridges may be broken up into a more charcoal-like pattern. Young bark is smoother, lighter gray-brown, and usually with fissures (cracks) running the length of the branch or trunk.
Acorn:
Small to medium (1/2 to 1 inch long). Cap has coarse scales, is somewhat cone-shaped, and covers 1/3 to 1/2 of the nut.
Gallery
Look-alike oaks:
Northern Red Oak - leaves, young bark, and general appearance may resemble northern red oak. However, the black oak has more uniform dark gray bark and lacks the pale gray ridges of northern red oak. Leaves of both species have long petioles, but those of black oak have deeper sinuses than those of northern red oak. Black oak acorns have larger caps that cover more of the nut.
Scarlet Oak - leaves may resemble scarlet oak, but sun leaves of scarlet oak have deeper sinuses, almost reaching the midvein. Underside of scarlet oak leaves is smooth except for a small amount of hairs between the midvein and side veins, while black oak leaves are more variably pubescent underneath. Mature bark of scarlet oak also has pale gray ridges, unlike black oak. Scarlet oak has a reddish to pinkish inner bark.
Shumard Oak - Black oak has rougher bark than shumard oak, and the leaves are often larger as well. Underside of shumard oak leaves have tufts of brown hairs between the midvein and side veins. Acorn cap of shumard oak is shallower than that of black oak. Shumard oak has a reddish-pink inner bark while black oak has a yellow or orange inner bark.