Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)

Form

Height may reach 65 to 80 feet and diameters of 2 to 3 feet; forming an open, sometimes irregular, round-topped crown.

Bark

Thick, deeply and irregularly divided by fissures into broad ridges; greyish-brown; bark on upper branches ragged and often peeling.

Leaf

Length 5 to 6 inches, width 2 to 4 inches; often crowded towards ends of twigs; broad at middle (pear-shaped) and wedge-shaped at base; wavy and indented along margin; dark green and shiny above, greyish and fuzzy beneath.

Fruit

An acorn; length about 1 inch; width 3/4 inches, enclosed for about 1/3 of its length in thick-walled cup. Usually in pairs on slender, dark brown stalks which are 2 to 4 inches long. Mature in 1 season.

Range

Sparsely distributed over the southern part of the state, extending into Wood and Buffalo counties; it grows on the borders of streams and swamps in moist, fertile soil.

Wood

Light brown, hard, strong, tough and durable; commercially, its uses and properties are similar to white and burr oak.