Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

turkey oak

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Quercus laevis

Family:

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

30-40 ft tall by 10-15 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

NA

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Acorns ripe the second fall. Red fall color. Life span - 100+ years.

Noted For:

Hurricane Wind Resistance, Fall Color, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen or shade tree.

Considerations:

Difficult to transplant once it has formed its tap root.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Seed. Small containerized plants.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic to calcareous

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host plant forHorace's duskywing ( Erynnis horatius ), red-banded hairstreak ( Calycopis cecrops ) and white-M hairstreak ( Parrhasius m-album ) butterflies)

Used by woodpeckers and wild turkey





Valued by squirrels and other mammals including white tailed deer





Used by birds for resting and nesting

Native Habitats:

Sandhill, scrub, scrubby sandhill. Increases in sandhill where long leaf pines were removed and where burns are restricted to winter.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This is one of the few Florida oaks that looks like an oak to most people from the eastern US north of Florida. Tends to be smaller toward the southern end of its range.