Quercus phellos
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- KWER-kus FEL-ohs
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Willow Oak is a native deciduous tree that may grow 50 to 80 feet tall but can reach up to 100 feet tall. It has a nice balanced rounded form that has made it a popular tree in the southeast USA. It prefers fun sun to light shade in acidic, moist to occasionally wet, well-drained loams but tolerates a wide range of soils. It is drought tolerant once established. Willow Oak is fast-growing and starts producing acorns at age 15-20 years. This tree is a high-value wildlife tree for birds and mammals. It is known as Willow Oak in most places and literature due to elongated, laurel-like leaves. It is known as Pin Oak in the Western Carolinas as leaves bear a "pin" at its tip, but Pin Oak is commonly applied to Q. palustris. It is utilized as a shade tree in commercial establishments, parks, golf courses, and as street tree. It grows fairly fast for an oak. It has a yellow fall color and prefers moist, well-drained soil, but is adaptable to more impossible habitats.
Fairly disease and pest resistant. Root rot, borers and trunk canker and orange-striped oakworm are potential problems. Chlorosis due to iron-deficiency occurs on high pH soil.
Quick ID Hints:
- Leaves willow-like with bristle tip
- Leaves narrow laurel-like with bristle tip
- Leaf pubescence below is axillary tufts of hairs
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Quercus
- Species:
- phellos
- Family:
- Fagaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central & Eastern U.S.A
- Distribution:
- AL , AR , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IL , KY , LA , MD , MO , MS , NC , NJ , NY , OK , PA , SC , TN , TX , VA. Found in all southeastern states; starting from eastern Texas towards the east coast, south to northern Florida and stopping northward at southern New Jersey.
- Fire Risk Rating:
- medium flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- It is a host plant for the Banded Hairstreak, Edward's Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, White-M Hairstreak, Horace's Duskywing, Juvenal's Duskywing butterflies and many moths. Its acorns are eaten by woodpeckers, songbirds, ducks, small mammals, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, quail and black bears.
- Play Value:
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Wildlife Nesting
- Edibility:
- Acorns (nuts) are edible after tannins are leached or boiled out.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 50 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 40 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Poisonous
- Tree
- Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Oval
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- more than 60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- Usda Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Nut
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- The 1/2 inch long rounded fruits are acorns with a bowl-like cap that is striated with brown and black bands. Acorns are come singly or in pairs. Involucral bracts in a shallow cup, imbricated.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Catkin
- Insignificant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- Yellowish-green male flowers as long pendulous catkins. Female flowers in short spikes.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Smooth
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- 4-5 inch long green leaves are 1 inch wide and willow-like. Bristle tipped at the apex. Fall color is non-showy yellow-brown to red-brown. Leaves are simple, alternate, slender, smooth-edged and light green and shiny above while paler below with visible venation. Leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, acute and bristle tipped, rotund to subcuneate, entire, lower surface with conspicuous midrib and inconspicuous lateral veins with axillary tufts of hairs.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Ridges
- Bark Description:
- The bark is gray-brown with shallow ridges and furrows. Bark is rough and divided into narrow ridges as the tree ages.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Buds:
- Smooth/Hairless
- Stem Bud Terminal:
- Cluster of terminal buds
- Stem Cross Section:
- Round
- Stem Form:
- Straight
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- Branches and larger twigs are light gray to medium gray and relatively smooth, while small twigs are pale brown and smooth with scattered white lenticels. Buds are ovoid, 1/4" long, sharp-pointed, with imbricate scales, and brown in color.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Naturalized Area
- Recreational Play Area
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Edible Garden
- Native Garden
- Rain Garden
- Design Feature:
- Shade Tree
- Street Tree
- Attracts:
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Pollution
- Salt
- Wet Soil
