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Research ArticleArticles

The Oaks Of Texas

Benny J Simpson
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) December 1986, 12 (12) 302-304; DOI: https://doi.org/10.48044/joa.1986.12.12.302
Benny J Simpson
The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University, Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, Texas 75252
Roles: Research Scientist
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Abstract

Texas has 42 species and 2 varieties of oaks, approximately 10% of the oaks of the new world and 57-65% of the oaks of the United States. No other state even approaches the total number of species of oaks that are native to Texas, yet only 1 species, Quercus hinckleyi, is possibly endemic to Texas and it may also occur in Mexico. There are 29 white oak species and 15 species of black or red oak. Seven oak species are considered dwarf ( 15 ft.), 16 species reach heights of 30 ft., 7 reach heights of 50 ft. and 14 grow to over 50 ft. Nineteen of the Texas oaks are evergreen, or at least persistent in retention of foliage. Of particular interest are oaks of the grasslands of Texas. These are generally rhizomatous, more or less fire resistant (because of the rhizomes) and have great value for browse and erosion control.

Wherever they can be grown, oaks are a preferred tree for landscaping homes, office and institutions. Residents of Texas are fortunate since several oaks or at least one species can be grown in any location in the state. Forty-two species and 2 varieties are native within Texas (3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15). Oaks occur as shrubs scarcely 3 ft. tall to well over 100 ft. in height. Some species will grow in quite xeric sites in western Texas while others grow in oxygen-depleted wet sites in eastern Texas (11, 13, 15, 18).

Few insects and diseases affect Texas oaks but some diseases can devastating (16). Especially troublesome in Texas are Phymatotrichum omnivorum (cotton root rot) and Ceratocystis fagacearum (oak wilt or Texas live oak decline) (16).

This paper list the oaks and points out their uses in urban forestry and amenity landscaping. The scientific nomenclature of oaks is still somewhat controversial (1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, C. H. Muller, personal communication). One of the greatest difficulties is placing a species in either the white oak or red oak group. The work of Muller (11, 12, 13) will be followed in this paper.

White oaks

Acorns annual with inside-of-cup smooth. Bark white to gray, soft and scaley (sometimes black, hard and furrowed as in the “Live Oak”); leaves usually more or less rounded, perhaps sharp pointed teeth but not bristle tipped.

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Black oaks

Acorns biennial (pollinated one year and fertilized the following year), annual for Emory, Silverleaf annual or sometimes biennial; acorn cup fuzzy on inside. Bark black, hard and furrowed; leaves usually toothed and bristle tipped (aristate).

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Heights

In their native environment, the Texas oaks can range in heights from less than 3 ft to well over 100. Most lot sizes (for homes) preclude the use of the larger oaks. Smaller trees are needed and can readily be chosen from the following oaks:

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”Live oaks” (Persistent Leaved)

There are 19 persistent-leaved species of oaks in Texas. To call them “evergreen” is not entirely correct because they usually drop all their leaves at one time. However, if temperatures permit, they do hold their leaves overwinter. One of the persistent-leaved oaks that occurs along the coast near Victoria is a rhizomatous live oak that Muller (12) considers to be a juvenile form of Q. virginiana. However, this population along with those in Calhoun County, may be Q. minima × Q. virginiana while south of Corpus Christi it might be Q. oleolde × Q. fusiformis (15). These rhizomatous oaks fruit heavily at less than 3 ft. and remain in this form idefinitely.

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”Grassland oaks”

With the exception of the eastern Piney Woods and the basin and range of the Trans-Pecos, Texas is a prairie state. Most of the Trans-Pecos, while not true prairie, is still grassland and the oakhickory and pineland of eastern Texas contain openings of grassland.

The East and West Cross Timbers are postclimax oak savanna of post and blackjack oak (2). A narrow belt of tailgrass prairie extends from the Red River to the Gulf Coast and contain scattered stands of bur oak. Bur oak in the midwest is postclimax (18) in much the same manner as the post oak-black jack oak in the East and West Cross Timbers and the Post Oak Savanna.

Of greater interest are those oaks of the Gulf Coast, the Edwards Plateau and the oaks along and to the west of the 100th meridian, that are white oaks, more or less dwarf and rhizomatous. They occupy grasslands and appear to have evolved with the fires of the prairies (15).

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Oaks for fall foliage color

Most oaks, except for the persistent-leaved species, exhibit some color in the fall. An exception is Mexican Blue Oak, a live or persistantleaved oak that still gives color in the fall. The oaks listed below exhibit fall foliage color in most years.

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Oaks for different soils

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Fifteen Texas oaks of unusual landscape merit

  • Quercus alba (White oak) - Large tree of acid soils, excellent fall foliage.

  • Q. emoryi (Emory oak) - Medium tree of igneous soils in the mountains and valleys of the west, good persistent foliage.

  • Q. fusiformis (Escarpment live oak) -Motte forming medium oak of alkaline soils, persistent foliage.

  • Q. glaucpides (Lacey oak) - Medium oak, alkaline soils, blue-green leaves.

  • Q. laurifolia (Laurel oak) - Large oak, acid soils, persistent foliage.

  • Q. macrocarpa (Bur oak) - Massive oak of the prairies, will grow in almost any soil.

  • Q. mohriana (Mohr oak) - Small oak of the hard limestone soils of western Texas, persistent foiliage.

  • Q. muehlenbergii (Chinkapin oak) -Large oak of alkaline soils usually in river bottoms.

  • Q. oblongifolia (Mexican blue oak) - Small oak, persistent foliage, blue-green to mauve leaves in winter.

  • Q. pungens var. vaseyana (Vasey oak) -Small oak, with persistent, glossy foliage, usually in alkaline soils.

  • Q. shumardii (Shumard red oak) - Large oak of bottomlands, excellent fall foliage.

  • Q. sinuata var. breviloba (Bigelow oak) -Small oak with multiple stems on hard limestone, excellent flaking bark.

  • Q. texana (Texas red oak) - Medium oak of dry limestone soils, magnificent fall foliage.

  • Q. turbinella (Shrub live oak) - Dwarf oak of the Franklin Mountains, persistent silvery- gray foliage.

  • Q. virginiana (Coast live oak) - The “Live oak”, large tree of coastal areas east of Brazos River , persistent foliage.

Footnotes

  • ↵1. Presented at the annual conference of the International Society of Arboriculture in San Antonio in August 1986.

  • Copyright © 1986, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.

Literature Cited

  1. 1.↵
    1. Cottam, W. P.,
    2. J. M. Tucker, and
    3. F. S. Santamour, Jr.
    . 1982. Oak hybridization at the University of Utah. State Arboretum of Utah. Publ. No. 1.
  2. 2.↵
    1. Dyksterhuis, E. J.
    1948. The vegetation of the Western Cross Timbers. Eco. Monog. 18(3):326–376.
    OpenUrl
  3. 3.↵
    1. Elias, T. S.
    1980. The Complete Trees of North America, Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY. 948 pp.
  4. 4.↵
    1. Fowells, H. A.
    1965. Silvios of forest trees of the United States. U.S. Dep. Agr., Agr. Handbook 271
  5. 5.↵
    1. Lanner, R. M.
    1984. Trees of the Great Basin, a Natural History. University of Nevada. Reno. p. 155–164.
  6. 6.↵
    1. Little, E. L., Jr.
    . 1971. Atlas of United States trees, Volume 1, conifers and important hardwoods. U.S. Dep. Agr. Misc. Pub. 1146. 313 maps.
  7. 7.↵
    1. Little, E. L., Jr.
    . 1976. Atlas of United States trees, volume 3, minor western hardwoods. U.S. Dep. Agr. Misc. Pub. 1134. 290 maps.
  8. 8.↵
    1. Little, E. L., Jr.
    . 1977. Atlas of United States trees, volume 4, minor eastern hardwoods. U.S. Dep. Agr. Misc. Pub. 1342. 230 maps.
  9. 9.↵
    1. Little, E. L., Jr.
    . 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). U.S. Dep. Agr. Handbook 541. 375 pp.
  10. 10.↵
    1. Miller, H., and
    2. S. Lamb
    . 1985. Oaks of North America. Naturegraph Pub., Inc. Happy Camp, CA. 327 pp.
  11. 11.↵
    1. C. L. Lundell
    1. Muller, C. H.
    1951. The oaks of Texas, pp. 21-311. In Contributions from the Texas Research Foundation. 1 -(3). C. L. Lundell (ed.), Texas Research Foundation, Renner, TX. 323 pp.
  12. 12.↵
    1. Muller, C. H.
    1961. The live oaks of the series Virentes. The Am. Mid. Nat. 65(1):17–39.
    OpenUrl
  13. 13.↵
    1. C. L. Lundell
    1. Muller, C. H.
    1970. Quercus L. oak. pp. 467-492. In Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. C. L. Lundell (ed.), Texas Research Foundation, Renner, TX. 1881 pp.
  14. 14.↵
    1. Nixon, K. C.
    1984. A biosystematic study of Quercus series Virentes (the live oaks) with phylogenetic analysis of Fagales, Fagaceae and Quercus. Ph.D. Diss. University of Texas at Austin. 392 pp.
  15. 15.↵
    1. Sargent, C. S.
    1965. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, NY. 1(433 pp.).
    OpenUrl
  16. 16.↵
    1. Solomon, J. D., et al
    . 1980. Oak pests, a guide to major insects, diseases, air pollution, and chemical injury. U.S. Dep. Agr. Gen. Rept. SA-GR11. 69 pp.
  17. 17.
    1. Stout, A. B.
    1944. The bur oak openings In southern Wisconsin. Trans. Wise. Academy of Sci., Arts and Letter. 36:141–161.
    OpenUrl
  18. 18.↵
    1. Van Dersal, W. R.
    1938. Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. U.S. Dep. Agr. Misc. Pub. 303. 210–223 pp.
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Vol. 12, Issue 12
December 1986
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The Oaks Of Texas
Benny J Simpson
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Dec 1986, 12 (12) 302-304; DOI: 10.48044/joa.1986.12.12.302

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The Oaks Of Texas
Benny J Simpson
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Dec 1986, 12 (12) 302-304; DOI: 10.48044/joa.1986.12.12.302
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • White oaks
    • Black oaks
    • Heights
    • ”Live oaks” (Persistent Leaved)
    • ”Grassland oaks”
    • Oaks for fall foliage color
    • Oaks for different soils
    • Fifteen Texas oaks of unusual landscape merit
    • Footnotes
    • Literature Cited
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
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