Quercus laevis
Fl. Carol., 234. 1788.
Trees or shrubs, deciduous, to 20 m. Bark bluish gray, deeply furrowed, inner bark orangish or reddish. Twigs dark reddish brown with distinct grayish cast, (1.5-)2-3.5(-4) mm diam., sparsely pubescent to almost glabrous. Terminal buds light brown to reddish brown, conic or narrowly ovoid-ellipsoid, 5.5-12 mm, pubescent. Leaves: petiole 5-25 mm, glabrous. Leaf blade circular or broadly ovate-elliptic, widest near or proximal to middle, 100-200 × 80-150 mm, base attenuate to acute, occasionally obtuse or rounded, blade decurrent on petiole, margins with 3-7(-9) lobes and 7-20 awns, lobes attenuate to falcate, occasionally oblong or distally expanded, apex acute to acuminate; surfaces abaxially occasionally orange-scurfy, usually glabrous except for conspicuous axillary tufts of tomentum, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins raised on both surfaces. Acorns biennial; cup somewhat goblet-shaped, 9-14 mm high × 16-24 mm wide, covering 1/3 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent, scales occasionally tuberculate, tips loose, especially at margin of cup, acute, margin conspicuously involute; nut ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 17-28 × 12-18 mm, often faintly striate, glabrate, scar diam. 6-10 mm.
Phenology: Flowering early to mid spring.
Habitat: Dry sandy soils of barrens, sandhills, and well-drained ridges
Elevation: 0-150 m
Distribution
Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., N.C., S.C., Va.
Discussion
Quercus laevis reportedly hybridizes with Q. falcata (= Q. ×blufftonensis Trelease), Q. hemisphaerica, Q. incana, and Q. marilandica (C. S. Sargent 1918); with Q. nigra; and with Q. arkansana, Q. coccinea, Q. myrtifolia, Q. phellos, Q. shumardii, and Q. velutina (D. M. Hunt 1989).
Selected References
None.