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Scarlet oak facts for kids

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Scarlet oak
2014-11-02 14 15 16 Scarlet Oak foliage during autumn on Hunters Ridge Drive in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.jpg
Tree in autumn
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Quercus
Species:
coccinea
Quercus coccinea range map 1.png
Synonyms

Quercus coccinea, the scarlet oak, is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. The scarlet oak can be mistaken for the pin oak, the black oak, or occasionally the red oak. On scarlet oak the sinuses between lobes are "C"-shaped in comparison to pin oak (Q. palustris), which has "U"-shaped sinuses and the acorns are half covered by a deep cap.

Scarlet oak is mainly native to the central and eastern United States, from southern Maine west to Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, and south as far as Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. It occurs on dry, sandy, usually acidic soils. It is often an important canopy species in an oak–heath forest.

Description

Quercus coccinea is a medium-large deciduous tree growing to 20–30 m (67–100 feet) tall with an open, rounded crown.

The leaves are glossy green, 7–17 cm (2.8–6.8 inches) long and 8–13 cm (3.2–5.2 inches) broad, lobed, with seven lobes, and deep sinuses between the lobes. Each lobe has 3–7 bristle-tipped teeth. The leaf is hairless (unlike the related pin oak, which has tufts of pale orange-brown down where the lobe veins join the central vein). The common English name is derived from the autumn coloration of the foliage, which generally becomes bright scarlet; in contrast, pin oak foliage generally turns bronze in autumn.

The acorns are ovate, 7–13 mm broad and 17–31 mm long, a third to a half covered in a deep cup, green maturing pale brown about 18 months after pollination; the kernel is very bitter.

Uses

Scarlet oak is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree, popular for its bright red fall color. The cultivar 'Splendens' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Quercus coccinea para niños

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