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Cressler, Alan

Quercus georgiana

Quercus georgiana M.A. Curtis

Georgia Oak

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: QUGE

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Georgia oak is a small, slow growing tree with a compact crown reaching a normal high of 26 feet (7.9 m). BARK: gray to light brown, mature bark becomes scaly. TWIGS and BUDS: smooth red twigs with prominent light brown lenticels; buds are reddish-brown, ovoid with smooth scales that may be ciliated. LEAVES: petiole 1⁄4 - 7⁄8 inch (6 - 22 mm) long, usually with a few hairs; leaf blade broadly elliptical and thin, 1 1⁄2 - 5 1⁄8 inches (38 - 130 mm) long, 3⁄4 - 3 1⁄2 inches (19 - 89 mm) wide, with a cuneate or obtuse base, margin with 3 - 5 pointed bristle- tipped lobes; surface is a shiny green above, pale green below with axillary tufts of tomentum.

Georgia oak was originally described from specimens collected on Stone Mountain in Georgia. This species is a conservation concern and listed as threatened by the Smithsonian Report. The largest known Georgia oak grows in Clarke County, Georgia.

From the Image Gallery

3 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Elliptic
Leaf Margin: Lobed
Leaf Base: Cuneate
Fruit Type: Nut
Size Notes: Up to about 45 feet tall, usually shorter. Flora of North America describes a height up to about 75 feet tall.
Leaf: Shiny green above, pale green below
Fruit: Acorns biennial; short-stalked cup, thin walled and saucer-shaped, outer surface slightly pubescent with smooth inner surface, covering 1⁄3 of the nut; brown subglobular nut, 3⁄8 - 1⁄2 inch (10 - 13 mm) in length.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Green
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May

Distribution

USA: AL , GA , SC
Native Distribution: Alabama east to South Carolina.
Native Habitat: Restricted to granitic outcrops and dry slopes in the Piedmont Plateau at approximately 1700 feet (518 m) elevation; found in the oak-pine forest types associated with Q. montana, Q. marilandica, and Q. stellata.

Bibliography

Bibref 1134 - Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (2003) Stein, John D. and Denise Binion

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 3 - Flora of North America (2014) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Quercus georgiana in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Quercus georgiana in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Quercus georgiana

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-10-10
Research By: DEW

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