FNPS Plant Database

Quercus austrina

bluff oak, bastard white oak
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

bluff oak, bastard white oak

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Quercus austrina

Family:

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

60-75 ft ft

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Relatively small for an oak. Use as specimen tree or in a grove.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed, Friends

Propagation:

Acorns

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Somewhat moist, no flooding

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, Loam

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for brown duskywing butterfly ( Erynnis horatius ), and gray hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ), and white-M hairstreak ( Parrhasius m-album ).

Birds, squirrels, racoons, deer and other wildlife eat the seeds.

Native Habitats:

Well drained bottomlands and bluffs.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Huegel, Craig N. (2010). Native Plant Landscaping for Florida Wildlife. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Minno, Marc, and Maria Minno. (1999). Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Ruter, John M., and Bodie V. Pennisi. (2017). Selecting Salt-Tolerant Native Trees for the Georgia Coast (Bulletin B-1477). ( https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/B1477/selecting-salt-tolerant-native-trees-for-the-georgia-coast/ ). Accessed 2026. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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