Quercus velutina - Black Oak

General Information Common Name  Black Oak Scientific Name  Quercus velutina Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  20-42 m (65-140 ft) Spread  10 -15 m (40 - 50 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Yellow Flower Color  Yellow Type  Tree Native  America

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Hamamelididae Order  Fagales Family  Fagaceae – Beech family Genus  Quercus L. – Oak Species  Q. velutina

Quercus velutina - Black Oak

Quercus velutina common name is the Eastern Black Oak but mainly known as simply Black Oak. It is an oak in the red oak (Quercus sect. Lobatae). It is native to eastern North America mainly in USA. It is a common tree in the Indiana Dunes and other sandy dual ecosystems along the southern shores of Lake Michigan. It was previously known as yellow oak due to the yellow pigment in its inner bark. It is a deciduous tree.
Q. Velutina grows 20–25 m (65–80 ft) in height and a diameter of 90 cm (35 in), some time it grows up to 42 m (140 ft). Black oak is well known to readily hybridize with other members of the red oak (Quercus sect. Lobatae) group of oaks being one parent in at least a dozen different named hybrids.

The black oak’s leaves are arranged alternately on the twig and are 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long with 5-7 bristle tipped lobes separated by deep U-shaped notches. The upper surface of the leaf is a shiny deep green; the lower is yellowish-brown. There are also satellite hairs on the underside of the leaf that grow in clumps. Black oak is monoecious. The staminate flowers develop from leaf axils of the previous year and the catkins emerge before or at the same time as the current leaves in spring. The pistil-late flowers are borne in the axils of the current year's leaves and may be solitary or occur in two- to many-flowered spikes. 

The fruit, an acorn that occurs singly or in clusters of two to five, is about one-third enclosed in a scaly cup and matures in 2 years. Black oak acorns are brown when mature and ripen from late August to late October, depending on geographic location. In forest stands, black oak begins to produce seeds at about age 20 and reaches optimum production at 40 to 75 years. It is a consistent seed producer with good crops of acorns every 2 to 3 years. In Missouri, the average number of mature acorns per tree was generally higher than for other oaks over a 5-year period, but the number of acorns differed greatly from year to year and from tree to tree within the same stand. The number of seeds that become available for regenerating black oak may be low even in good seed years. Insects, squirrels, deer, turkey, small rodents, and birds consume many acorns. They can eat or damage a high percentage of the acorn crop in most years and essentially all of it in poor seed years. Black oak acorns from a single tree are dispersed over a limited area by squirrels, mice, and gravity. The blue jay may disperse over longer distances.

Quercus velutina - Black Oak Young Plant

The inner bark of the black oak contains a yellow pigment called quercitron, which was sold commercially in Europe.

It is the forest cover type that designates pure stands of the species or those in which it makes up more than 50 percent of the stand basal area. In southern New England, black oak grows on cool, moist soils. Elsewhere it occurs on warm, moist soils. Black oak grows on all aspects and slope positions. It grows best in coves and on middle and lower slopes with northerly and easterly aspects.  Wildfires seriously damage black oak trees by killing the cambium at the base of the trees. This creates an entry point for decay fungi. The end result is loss of volume because of heart rot. Trees up to pole size are easily killed by fire and severe fires may even kill saw timber. Many of the killed trees sprout and form a new stand. However, the economic loss may be large unless at least some of it can be salvaged.

Leaves of Black Oak

Leaves of Black Oak

Flowers of Black Oak

Black Oak Flowers

Black Oak Fruits

Acorn of Black Oak

Bark of Black Oak

Black Oak

Black Oak Buds 

Black Oak

Black Oak

Black Oak

Yellow colored Black Oak

Black Oak in Autumn

Black Oak