Swamp White Oak
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| Quercus bicolor Willd. |
The Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor), is a species of oak in the white oak section Quercus section Quercus, native to eastern North America from southernmost Quebec and southern Maine west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Alabama and North Carolina. As its name implies, it is a tree of wetlands, but grows farther north than the other wetland white oaks (Swamp Chestnut Oak and Overcup Oak). It is not a large tree, typically growing to 20-25m tall, with the tallest known reaching 29m.
The bark resembles the White Oak. The leaves are broad ovoid, 12-18 cm long and 7-11 cm broad, always more or less glaucous on the underside, and are shallowly lobed with five to seven lobes on each side, intermediate between the Chestnut Oak and the White Oak. The fruit is an acorn, 1.5-2 cm (rarely 2.5 cm) long and 1-2 cm broad, maturing about 6 months after pollination.
It forms hybrids with Bur Oak where they occur together in the wild.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is one of the more important white oaks for lumber production. In recent years, the swamp white oak has become a popular landscaping tree, partly due to its relative ease of transplanting.
