Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Swamp white oak
Quercus bicolor
Leaves front and back. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunVirens ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Adaptable oak for moist or periodically wet sites; also tolerates urban conditions once established.
Turn a leaf over: the pale, softly hairy underside contrasts with the dark upper surface. Lobes are shallow.
More growing details
Read the bark
Gray-brown bark becomes ridged; branches may peel.
Fruit & seed
Long acorn stalks help separate this species from white oak and chestnut oak.
Winter character
Peeling branches and clustered end buds supplement persistent acorn stalks.
Origin & place
A North American native but rare in North Carolina, mainly outside the mountains. A WNC landscape tree is generally planted.
Compare with White oak
White oak typically has deeper lobes and much shorter acorn stalks.
WNC Notes
Adaptable oak for moist or periodically wet sites; also tolerates urban conditions once established.
Sun Exposure
Full sun
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
50–60
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
50–60
BLOOM SEASON
Spring
BLOOM COLOR
Catkins
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Yellow-brown
Wet-Soil Tolerance
High
Drought Tolerance
Moderate
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
Leaves front and back. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunVirens ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Bark — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunLiné1 ↗ · CC BY-SA 3.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Acorn — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunDan Keck ↗ · CC0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
Your margin of the garden.
Saved only in this browser on this device. Export your notes from My garden in the library.
