Quercus Shumardii

The Quercus Shumardii is commonly known as Schneck Oak, Shumard Oak, Shumard Red Oak, Shumard's Red Oak, Southern Red Oak, Spanish Oak, Spotted Oak, Swamp Red Oak, Texas Oak, as well as Texas Red Oak

< Go Back

Growing Regions

Shumard oak occurs on the Atlantic Coastal Plain from North Carolina south to northern Florida; west to central Texas; north to central Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, western and southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It occurs locally north to southern Michigan, and southern Pennsylvania [9,11,25]. Specimens have been collected from extreme southwestern Ontario and the eastern Niagara peninsula [38]. The status of Shumard oak in Maryland is uncertain. It has been reported in Maryland by reliable sources [9], but specimens were not located by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife Service survey [47].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name for Shumard oak is Quercus shumardii Buckl. It is a member of the red oak group (subgenus Erythrobalanus) [11,25]. There are no accepted subspecies or forms. Some authorities recognize the following varieties [11,25,38]: Quercus shumardii var. shumardii Quercus shumardii var. texana (Buckl.) Ashe (Texas oak) Quercus shumardii var. schneckii (Britt.) Sarg. (Schneck oak) A new variety, Q. s. var. stenocarpa, with very narrow and shallow acorn cups, has been reported in the Midwest [24]. Maple-leaf oak, which was formerly accepted as a variety of Shumard oak (as Q. s. var. acerifolia), has been elevated to species status as Q. acerifolia Stoynoff & Hess [34,50]. Shumard oak forms hybrids with nine other species of oaks [11,25,45]. It is most closely related to blackjack oak (Q. marilandica) and black oak (Q. velutina), as determined by electrophoresis [17].

Shumard oak is usually widely spaced and never occurs in pure stands
[33].  It occurs with the more prominent southern oaks included in the
oak-hickory forest region described by Braun [46].

Common tree associates not previously mentioned include white ash
(Fraxinus americana), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), shellbark hickory
(C. laciniosa), mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa), bitternut hickory (C.
cordiformis), water hickory (C. aquatica), Delta post oak (Quercus
stellata var. paludosa), willow oak (Q. phellos), water oak (Q. nigra),
southern red oak (Q. falcata var. falcata), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica),
winged elm (Ulmus alata), magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), yellow-poplar
(Liriodendron tulipifera), American beech (Fagus grandiflora), and
spruce pine (Pinus glabra) [11].

• More Quercus Shumardii Information

< Go Back