Delta Post Oak

The Quercus Stellata is commonly known as Bottom-land Post Oak, Bottomland Post Oak, Boynton Post Oak, Cross Oak, Delta Post Oak, Drummond Post Oak, Dwarf Post Oak, Iron Oak, Mississippi Valley Oak, Post Oak, Runner Oak, Sand Post Oak, Sandhill Post Oak, Scrubby Post Oak, as well as Yellow Oak

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Growing Regions

Post oak is widespread in the eastern and central United States from southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, southern Connecticut, and extreme southeastern New York; south to central Florida; and west to southeastern Kansas, western Oklahoma, and central Texas. In the Midwest, it grows as far north as southeastern Iowa, central Illinois, and southern Indiana. It is an abundant tree in coastal plains and the Piedmont and extends into the lower slopes of the Appalachian Mountains [47]. Sand post oak occurs from southeastern Virginia south to central Florida and west to Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and south and central Texas [47]. It is most common on coastal plains and is scattered in the Piedmont [13]. Delta post oak occurs in bottomlands in eastern Texas and in the Mississippi River valley in western Mississippi, southeastern Arkansas, and Louisiana [47].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of post oak is Quercus stellata Wangenh. [30,47]. Post oak has been placed within the subgenus Lepidobalanus, or white oak group [59]. The following three varieties are recognized [30]: Quercus stellata var. margaretta (Ashe) Sarg., sand post oak Quercus stellata var. paludosa Sarg., Delta post oak Quercus stellata var. stellata, post oak Identification of post oak is difficult because of its many growth forms. At times, local populations have been given species or varietal status. A rhizomatous dwarf post oak that grows near Lufkin, Texas, is called Boynton post oak (Q. boyntonii). Drummond post oak, which grows in deep sands of Texas, is thought to be a hybrid between post oak and sand post oak [46]. It has also been considered a species (Q. drummondii) by some authors [13,46]. Post oak hybridizes with the following species [30]: x Q. alba (white oak): Q. X fernowii Trel. x Q. bicolor (swamp white oak): Q. X substellata Trel. x Q. durandii (Durand oak): Q. X macnabiana Sudw. x Q. havardii (Havard oak) x Q. lyrata (overcup oak): Q. X sterrettii Trel. x Q. macrocarpa (bur oak): Q. X guadalupensis Sarg. x Q. minima (dwarf live oak): Q. X neo-tharpii A. Camus x Q. mohriana (Mohr oak) x Q. prinoides (dwarf chinkapin oak): Q. X stelloides Palmer x Q. prinus (chestnut oak): Q. X bernardiensis W. Wolf x Q. virginiana (live oak): Q. X harbisonii Sarg.

Post oak occurs as a dominant tree in savannas and in forests adjacent
to grasslands.  It forms pure stands or mixed stands with blackjack oak
(Quercus marilandica) in the prairie transition area of central Oklahoma
and Texas, where the eastern deciduous forests grade into the drier
western grasslands [43,47].

Sand post oak codominates with bluejack oak (Q. incana) and blackjack
oak on the slightly more mesic midslopes of sandhills, downslope from
the xeric ridges that support turkey oak (Q. laevis) [7].

The following published classifications list post oak as a dominant or
codominant species:

Forest vegetation of the lower Alabama Piedmont [22]
The natural communitites of South Carolina [37]
Forest vegetation of the Big thicket, southeast Texas [33]
Eastern Deciduous Forest [52]
Old-growth forests within the Piedmont of South Carolina [25]
The natural forests of Maryland: an explanation of the vegetation map of
    Maryland [56]

• More Delta Post Oak Information

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