Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges, and also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to rot,

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

, and

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

. Interbreeding occurs among white oaks, thus many hybrid species combinations occur. It is identifiable by the rounded cross-like shape formed by the leaf lobes and hairy underside of the leaves.

Taxonomy

The specific epithet ''stellata'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "star"; it is named this because the

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

hairs on the bottom of the leaves are stellate or star-shaped. Several variants of ''Q. stellata'' were named by American botanist Charles Sprague Sargent. The variety most recognised by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

is ''Q. stellata'' var. ''paludosa'' Sarg (delta post oak).Stransky, John J. "Quercus stellata Wangenh.--post oak.
''Silvics of North America'' 2
(1990): 738–743.

Varieties

Varieties include: * var. ''margarettiae'' (Ashe) Sarg. * var. ''paludosa'' Sarg. * var. ''boyntonii'' (Beadle) Sarg. * var. ''anomala'' Sarg. * var. ''attenuata'' Sarg. * var. ''araniosa'' Sarg. * var. ''palmeri'' Sarg. * var. ''parviloba'' Sarg. * var. ''rufescens'' Sarg.

Hybrids

Description

Post oak is a relatively 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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

, typically tall and trunk in diameter, though occasional specimens reach tall and in diameter. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

have a very distinctive shape, with three perpendicular terminal lobes, shaped much like a Maltese cross. They are leathery, and tomentose (densely short-hairy) beneath. The branching pattern of this tree often gives it a rugged appearance. The

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

s are long, and are mature in their first summer.

Similar species

Both ''Quercus stellata'' and '' Q. alba'' are in a section of ''

'' called the white oaks. In the white oak section, ''Q. stellata'' is a sister taxon with ''Q. alba''. ''Q. stellata'' is sold and distributed as white oak. One identifiable difference between the two trees is that ''Q. stellata'' is 'hairy' on the underside of the leaf.Stein, John D., Denise Binion, and R. E. Acciavatti.
Field guide to native oak species of eastern North America.
(2003): 96-97.

Distribution and habitat

''Q. stellata'' is found in the eastern and Midwestern United States both inland and along the coast, then in a narrow range along the eastern coast from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, then westward to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and inland to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Normally found at the edge of a forest, it typically grows in dry, sandy areas, deficient of nutrients.

Ecology

''Q. stellata'' has the ability to survive

s by having thicker bark. It is useful for fire surveys where the tree rings are used to get a fire history of an area. A tree ring survey of 36 trees in Illinois provided a 226-year tree ring record that indicated that many ''Q. stellata'' persisted through annual fire return intervals of 1.44 fires/year for over 100 years. It is used for food for deer,

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

s, squirrels, and other

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s, but because the nuts contain

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

, it is toxic to cattle. A recent study in Kansas concluded that deer browsing reduces post-oak recruitment in canopy gaps generally in the sapling phase.Cory, B. J., & Leland Russell, F. (2022). Deer browsing and light availability limit post oak (Quercus stellata) sapling growth and post-fire recovery in a xeric woodland. Forest Ecology and Management, 519, 120346-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120346

Uses

Because of its ability to grow in dry sites, attractive crown, and strong horizontal branches, it is used in urban forestry. It is resistant to decay, so it is used for railroad ties, siding, planks, construction timbers,

stair riser Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

s and treads, flooring, pulp, veneer, particle board, fuel, and its namesake fence posts. It is one of the most common types of wood used for Central Texas barbecue.

References

External links

IPNI

Kew

Flora of North America

Plants.USDA.gov

photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1939
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2600501 stellata Endemic flora of the United States Trees of Northern America Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the United States Plants described in 1787