Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Shumard oak
Quercus shumardii
Leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunBruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Large adaptable oak with good color; confirm provenance for cold hardiness.
Inspect the lower leaf surface, especially vein junctions, as well as the pointed lobes. Variable leaves overlap other red oaks.
More growing details
Read the bark
Gray bark becomes darker and furrowed with age.
Fruit & seed
Relatively large acorns sit in shallow cups; acorns plus buds are more useful than red fall color.
Winter character
Clustered pale brown terminal buds require close examination against a regional key.
Origin & place
A southeastern native whose occurrence is much more local than common mountain oaks. Verify a wild record with a regional flora and county evidence.
Compare with Northern red and scarlet oaks
These overlap in leaf shape; compare mature acorns, terminal buds, and underside hairs together.
WNC Notes
Large adaptable oak with good color; confirm provenance for cold hardiness.
Sun Exposure
Full sun
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
50–70
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
40–60
BLOOM SEASON
Spring
BLOOM COLOR
Catkins
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Red
Wet-Soil Tolerance
Moderate
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. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunBruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Bark — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunBruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Acorns — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunBruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
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