Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

running oak, runner oak

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Quercus pumila

Family:

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

Typically 3 to 6 ft high, sometime higher, and forming clones.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

green (inconspicuous)

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms early spring (inconspicuous). Fruits ripen the second fall. Clonal, a likely adaptation to fire.

Noted For:

Hurricane Wind Resistance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Forms a low thicket with many sprouts from  underground stems.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Seed or as nursery-grown sapplings. Small stems may difficult to transplant from the wild.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Somewhat 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:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

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





 

Small mammals, including squirrels, use the acorns.





 Provides significant food and cover for wildlife.





The acorns are utilized by squirrels.





An important food source for the Florida scrub-jay as the tannins in the nuts help it remain edible through the winter; scrub-jays may also use it for nesting and perching

Native Habitats:

Scrub, scrubby flatwoods, scrubby sandhill.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments: