Swamp chestnut oak
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| Swamp Chestnut Oak | ||||||||||||||||
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The Swamp Chestnut Oak, Quercus michauxii, is a large oak of bottomlands and wetlands in the mid-south United States, and is in the white oak section, Quercus sect. Quercus.
The Swamp Chestnut Oak closely resembles the Chestnut Oak, Quercus prinus, and for that reason has sometimes been treated as a variety that species. However, the Swamp Chestnut Oak is a larger tree which differs in preferred habitat, and the bark does not have the distinctive deep, rugged ridging of the Chestnut Oak. The tallest specimen currently known is 40m tall.
The leaves of the Swamp Chestnut Oak are simple with large, rounded simple teeth, similar to the Chestnut Oak or the Chinkapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii, although they generally do not achieve the more slender form that those trees may exhibit at times.
The Swamp Chestnut Oak is also called the "Cow Oak" because of its large, relatively sweet (for an oak) acorns, which are readily eaten by livestock. However, these trees will only bear heavy crops at intervals of several years.
This tree is also called the "Basket Oak" because of its high-quality wood, which can be sliced into flexible strips suitable for basket weaving. The wood is usually marketed with White oak.
The Swamp Chestnut Oak grows throughout most of the southern United States, from Missouri to the Atlantic coast, and barely makes it north of the Ohio River.
This species makes a beautiful, large garden tree, and is quite easy to grow if it is not subject to extreme urban conditions.