FNPS Plant Database

Quercus nigra

water oak

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

water oak

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Quercus nigra

Family:

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

50-80 ft tall by 20-50 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

NA

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms early spring (inconspicuous). Fruits ripen the second fall. Life span 70-100 years.

Noted For:

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Shade tree. Semi-evergreen with leaves falling just before new leaves emerge.

Considerations:

Acorns can be a maintenance problem.

Availability:

Seed

Propagation:

Seed

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Short 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, Loam

Soil pH:

Acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A

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



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host plant for Horace's dusky wing ( Erynnis horactius ), red-banded hairstreak ( Calycopis cecrops ) and white-M hairstreak ( Parrhasius m-album ) butterflies

Provides cover for and nesting areas for birds and squirrels





The acorns are used by squirrels, turkeys, and deer



.

Native Habitats:

Floodplains, seep slopes, mesic secondary woods. May invade flatwoods if there is fire exclusion.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

The wood is weak.

Citations:

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280754&isprofile=0&



http://hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/queniga.pdf.



Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H.; [Technical coordinators] 1990. Silvics of North America: Volume 2. Hardwoods. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook 654 ( https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/1548 ). 



Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2010.  Native plant landscaping for Florida wildlife.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. (wildlife uses)



Minno, Marc and Maria Minno.  1999.   Florida butterfly gardening.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville.



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



University of Tennessee Extension Service.  Desired Ph Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants.    https://extension.tennessee.edu/mtnpi/Documents/handouts/Fertility/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf   accessed 2021.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu /).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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