Quercus nigra
Common name: 
Water Oak
Possum Oak
Pronunciation: 
KWER-kus NI-gra
Family: 
Fagaceae
Genus: 
Quercus
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Broadleaf deciduous tree, 50-80(100) ft (15-24(30) m) tall, rounded form.  Leaves alternate, simple, 3–12 cm long and 2–6 cm wide, often obovate and 3-lobed at the apex, but variable in shape and size, margins usually smooth, but a bristle at the apex and lobe tips.  Acorns small, about 1.5 cm or less, with striated black and brown bands.
  • Sun, adaptabe on moist to wet soils, transplants readily.
  • Native to the southeastern US, from Delaware south to Georga and central Florida, and west to Louisiana and eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
  • nigra: black
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: young tree northeast of Community (Benton) Hall, toward 15th St.
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • leafy shoot, young tree

    leafy shoot, young tree

  • leaves, young tree

    leaves

  • leaves, variation on young tree

    leaves, variation on young tree

  • leafy shoot, mature tree

    leafy shoot, mature tree

  • leaf

    leaf

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark

  • winter twigs, buds

    winter twig, buds