PLANT PROFILE

Quercus nigra
water oak



Quercus nigra

Quercus nigra
Top Photo Courtesy Renee Brecht
Britton & Brown
Botanical name: Quercus nigra
Common name: water oak
Group: dicot
Family: Fagaceae
Growth type: forb/herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: native
Plant height: 50 - 80'
Leaves: spatula shaped, simple, alternate leaves, often persisting into winter, with a shalllow saucer cup that encloses only the base of the acorn.
Rusty hairs along the veins of the underside of the leaves.
Flowering time: bloom mid-March to April. Fruit matures September to November
Habitat: wet or moist ground of floodplains, sometimes uplands
Range in New Jersey: local in Cumberland and Cape May counties
Heritage ranking, if any: S1, Endangered, LP, HL
Distribution:
Misc. Q. nigra is at the northern limit of its range and is a member of the red oak family.