Quercus stellata
  |
 |
Top photo USDA; bottom photo courtesy Renee Brecht; |
Britton & Brown; bottom USDA |
| Botanical name: | Quercus stellata |
| Common name: | post oak |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | to 65' |
| Bark: | Ashy gray; becomes more blocky and ridged with age. Branches often gnarled and twisted. |
| Leaves: | alternate, simple leaves with 5 lobes, two middle lobe squarish with a cruciform appearance. Stellate pubescence below. |
| Flowers: | monoecious; male flowers are yellow green catkins, female flowers are reddish short spikes |
| Flowering time: | flowers early May to mid-May, when leaves are partly expanded; fruits autumn of first season |
| Habitat: | dry, sterile, sandy or gravelly ground |
| Range in New Jersey: | statewide but rare and scattered in north Jersey |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | statewide, only local in the Pine barrens (Hough) |
| Distribution: |  |