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Shumard oak is a deciduous tree that usually gets about 75 ft (22 m) tall with a broad, open crown that spreads about 40 ft (12 m) across. On really good sites, Shumard oak is one of the largest of the southern oaks, reaching more than 100 ft (30 m) in height with a tall, straight trunk 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m) in diameter. It sometimes gets even larger: the record Shumard, in South Carolina, is 155 ft (46.5 m) tall with a trunk diameter over 6 ft (2 m) and a crown spread of 116 ft (34.8 m)! The leaves of shumard oak are variable, 6-8 in (15-20 cm) long, with 7, 9 or 11 bristle-tipped lobes with sinuses that extend half way to the midvein. In fall the leaves turn red or golden brown. The flowers are typical of oaks in general: female flowers are tiny and held in small inconspicuous spikes, and male flowers are clustered in hanging catkins about 6 in (15 cm) long. Flowers appear with the opening of the leaves in early spring. The acorns are about an inch (2.5 cm) long with a deep, saucer-shaped cup that encloses about a third of the nut. Shumard oak looks a lot like scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), which has smaller leaves; and northern red oak (Q. rubra), which has leaves less deeply lobed and an acorn whose cup encloses only a quarter of the nut. Shumard oak hybridizes with other oak species including southern red oak (Q. falcata), willow oak (Q. phellos), water oak (Q. nigra), and blackjack oak (Q. marilandica), and the results of such miscegenations may look like either parent or something in between or even something unlike either parent.
Location
Culture
Summertime shade and brilliant fall color make the Shumard oak a good choice as a shade tree for a large landscape. They are often planted as street trees or along pathways and sidewalks. Shumard oak can withstand a wetter soil than the similar northern red oak. The reddish-brown wood, marketed as red oak, is hard, heavy and close-grained. It is very valuable and used for veneer, flooring, and furniture.
Features The oaks can be divided into two major groups: members of the white oak group have rounded leaf lobes and tips, and edible acorns that mature in one year; members of the red oak group have bristles on the leaf lobes and tips, and bitter acorns that take two years to mature. Shumard oak is in the red oak group. Acorns are a very important wildlife food, and many species depend upon them for winter survival. Populations of deer, squirrels, bear, turkey, wood duck and many more animals increase and decrease with the annual (and variable) acorn crop. sc 11/20/99; updated 06/27/07, 11/9/07
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