BLACK OAK - Quercus velutina, Lam.
THE BLACK OAK IS PROBABLY the most widely distributed oak in the state. It grows on a great variety of sites and will reach commercial saw-log size on almost every soil type. A key identifying feature is the mustard yellow inner bark.
Leaves are alternate, simple, with 5 to 7 bristle-tipped lobes, cut deep or shallow. They are 5 to 10 inches long and 3 to 8 inches wide, dark and shiny above and pale and conspicuously fuzzy underneath.
Bark is smooth on branches, becoming black and very rough. The inner bark is mustard yellow and bitter. In early times a tannin extract was used from this inner bark to tan hides.
The acorn is oval and enclosed halfway in a deep cup. Although it is not the tastiest food, squirrels, raccoons, quail, deer, turkeys, wood ducks and black ducks will make it a part of their winter diet.
Because black oak is so common, large volumes are harvested. Lumbermen group black oak with the other red and black oaks. Lumber is used for crating, bridge timbers, railroad ties, flooring and rough construction.
Several species of wood borers cause serious damage to black oak trees. These worms bore into a tree and form tunnels, then fungi frequently invade these tunnels and begin to decay the live wood, causing further reduction of clear lumber.
