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Shumard Oak. Shumard Oak ( Fagaceae Quercus shumardii ). By: Bryan Rose. Description. One of the largest red oaks known today (100-125 ft. in height, 4-5 ft. DBH) It has clear symmetrical bowl with an open and wide spreading crown.
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Shumard Oak Shumard Oak (FagaceaeQuercusshumardii) By: Bryan Rose
Description • One of the largest red oaks known today (100-125 ft. in height, 4-5 ft. DBH) • It has clear symmetrical bowl with an open and wide spreading crown. • The bark is thick with deep splotchy white ridges and sometimes reflective on younger tress. • Leaves are 3-8 inches long with 5-9 lobes and bristle tips. Fall color is red or brown • Leaves have a variation in lobbing with the base possibly being uneven. • Terminal bud is about ¼ in. long and are in clusters and sharp pointed. Glabrous with downy like hairs covering it and are a grayish brown color.
BUDS BARK LEAF FORM
Growth -Shumard oak is very shade intolerant so often it can be found growing in openings of the forest. -It grows quite large on bottomland sites . -It is said that when shumard reaches maturity it will retard understory growth by allelopathic effect. This is when a plant produces certain biochemicals that effects the growth of organisms around them. -Prefers to grow in humid weather with hot summers and shorter winters. -Shumard oak also tolerates drought well.
Reproduction • Shumard bears seeds around the age of twenty five and has a gap of two to three years between crops. • The acorns are multiply seeded which is an unusual trait. • The seeds are spread by animals using the acorns as a source of food such as deer, squirrels, chipmunks and so on. • They flower from March to April and their acorns usually ripen from September to October of their second year. • The flowers are monoecious with the male catikins in long hanging clusters and light green. The females are paired or single with the leaves (hardly ever noticed). • The acorns are single or paired also and ¾” to 1 ¼” long and their cap is scaly and does not cover much of the acorn.
RANGE Shumard oak is primarily found in the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Uses for shumard oak • Shumard oak is closed grained and strong but it is usually sold in with red oak. • The acorns have been known to be ground up and used for flour and coffee. • Used as an ornamental shade tree • Other uses include • Flooring • Interior trim • Furniture • Paneling • Cabinetry
Fun Facts • This tree was named after Benjamin Franklin Shumard(1820-1869) who was the state geologist for Texas. • A shumard oak can be difficult to identify due to the fact that hybridize with other oak species. • The largest shumard oak on record is in Overton park forest in Memphis, Tennessee. It is recorded at 190’ high, 88’ spread, and has a circumference of 249”. • Other names include • Shumard’s red oak • Spotted oak • Schneck oak • Swamp red oak • Texas oak • Spanish oak
Sources • http://74.203.141.52/arboretum/Trees/shumard_oak.htm • http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=169 • http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=QUSH