''Quercus georgiana'', the Georgia oak or Stone Mountain oak, is a rare deciduous red

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, native to the southeastern United States.

Description

''Quercus georgiana'' is a small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, often

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

by in the wild, growing to tall. It is classified in the red oak section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''.

Leaves

The shiny green

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are long and wide, with a petiole, and five irregular, pointed, bristle-tipped lobes; they are glabrous (hairless), except for small but conspicuous tufts of hairs in the vein axils on the underside. The leaves turn dark red to brown in the autumn, stay on the tree throughout the winter, and fall as the new leaves bud in the spring.

Flowering and fruiting

Like all oaks, flowering and leaf-out occur in late spring when all frost danger has passed. The flowers are

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

catkins which, being self-incompatible, require the presence of another oak for pollination. Quercus georgiana catkins in early spring 01

The acorns are round, long, maturing about 18 months after pollination.Flora of North America - ''Quercus georgiana''
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Twigs and buds

Twigs are deep red, 1–2 mm in diameter and glabrous. Terminal buds are red-brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5–5 mm, and glabrous or with scales somewhat ciliate.

Bark

The bark is gray to light brown, scaly. Quercus georgiana twig and buds in early spring 01

Distribution and habitat

The Georgia oak is native to the southeastern United States, mainly in northern Georgia, but with additional populations in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It grows on dry granite and sandstone outcrops of slopes of hills at altitude. The tree was first discovered in 1849 at Stone Mountain, Georgia, where several stands of pure specimens grow along the popular walk-up trail at around , near the large chestnut oak in the middle of the trail and before the rest pavilion halfway up the trail. Georgia oaks are also found at nearby

monadnocks An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

, including

Panola Mountain Panola Mountain is a granite monadnock near Stockbridge on the boundary between Henry County and Rockdale County, Georgia. The peak is above sea level, rising above the South River. The South River marks the boundary between Henry, Rockdale ...

and Arabia Mountain in Georgia.

Uses

It is occasionally cultivated as a specimen or garden tree in

USDA plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

s 5–8. Besides landscape

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, the Georgia oak has no commercial uses.

References

External links

* http://www.internationaloaksociety.org/content/quercus-georgiana-stone-mountain-georgia-usa * http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/ * http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=1023 * https://web.archive.org/web/20170721122735/http://www.arkive.org/georgia-oak/quercus-georgiana/ * http://quercus.myspecies.info/taxonomy/term/64/media * http://www.namethatplant.net/plantdetail.shtml?plant=2187 * http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Quercus+georgiana * https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=11370 * http://www.scottranger.com/quercus-georgiana-georgia-oak.html * https://apps.acesag.auburn.edu/projects/plants/plant/view.php?plantid=4ca0f4ff9a16f7.67440683 * https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/81200/81232/81232_georgiaoak.htm Quercus georgiana bark 01

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3815753

georgiana Georgiana is a Catalan, English, Greek and Romanian name. It is the feminine form of the male name George and a variation of the female names Georgina and Georgia. It comes from the Greek word Γεώργιος, meaning farmer. A variant spellin ...

Endemic flora of the United States Trees of the Southeastern United States Flora of Alabama Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of South Carolina Plants described in 1849 Endangered flora of the United States Taxa named by Moses Ashley Curtis