Flowers:
Spring; not ornamentally important
Foliage:
Green (Summer foliage); Multi-Colored (Fall; attractive yellow-bronze to red)
Soil:
Widely adapted to soils, as long as they are acidic- can develop chlorosis in high pH soils
Range:
Eastern United States and southwestern Ontario
Diagnostic Characteristics:
The leathery, lustrous dark green leaves of Quercus shumardii are similar to those of Q. palustris (Pin Oak) and Q. coccinea (Scarlet Oak) and are alternate, simple, 4-6" long and have 7 lobes with deeply cut sinuses. The buds are glabrous, imbricate, 1/4-3/8" long, and gray to straw-colored, differing from the red-brown buds of Q. palustris and Q. coccinea. The 3/4-1" long acorns have a shallow cap and emerge green, becoming brown with age.
