Missouri Department of Conservation
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Scarlet Oak

Quercus coccinea
Family: 
Fagaceae (oaks)
Description: 

A medium-sized tree with a long, straight trunk, an open, narrow crown and sometimes persistent dead branches on the lower trunk.

Leaves alternate, simple, 3–7 inches long, with 7–9 lobes extending more than halfway to the central vein, the notches rounded and C-shaped, the lobe tips with large, bristle-tipped teeth. Upper surface bright green, shiny, smooth; lower surface paler, sometimes with tufts of rusty hairs at the axis of main veins. Leaves turn scarlet in autumn.

Bark with shallow grooves and irregular ridges, becoming scaly with age.

Twigs slender, greenish at first; orange-red or brown with age, smooth or hairy. Bud scales with whitish hairs near the tip.

Flowers April–May, in catkins.

Fruits September–October, acorns solitary or paired; nut brown, broadest near the base, ½–1 inch long, top sometimes with concentric rings; cup covering about ½ of the nut, cup scales thick, flattened, sometimes warty, shiny, smooth. Acorns ripen in autumn of the second year.

Size: 
Height: 80 feet.
Habitat and conservation: 
Occurs in acid soils associated with sandstone, chert or igneous rocks on narrow ridges, slopes and upland woods bordering headwaters of tributary streams. Grows on the poor, dryer soils of the Ozarks, often mixed with black, post and white oaks as well as with shortleaf pine. It forms nearly pure stands on broad, flat ridges in some areas of the Ozarks.
Distribution in Missouri: 
Common tree of the Missouri Ozarks, occupying much the same area as shortleaf pine with which it frequently grows. Potentially cultivated statewide.
Human connections: 
Lumber from this tree makes up a large part of Missouri’s timber harvest. Also used for windbreaks. A popular landscaping tree for its relative fast growth, attractive form and scarlet autumn foliage. It does better than pin oak in drier sites, but it doesn’t tolerate air pollution as well.
Ecosystem connections: 
A prolific bearer of acorns, it’s an important wildlife tree. When Missouri’s shortleaf pine forests were felled (before the 1920s), scarlet and black oak soon dominated those areas. Now that those trees are nearing the end of their lives, land managers are reintroducing the shortleaf pine.

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