Scarlet Oak

The Quercus Coccinea is commonly known as Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, as well as Spanish Oak

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Growing Regions

Scarlet oak is distributed from southwestern Maine west to New York, Ohio, southern Michigan and Indiana; south to southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, and central Mississippi; east to southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia; and north along the western edge of the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the Virginia Coast.  Scarlet oak is abundant in the Piedmont and in the Appalachian Mountains [24,30].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of scarlet oak, a member of the beech family (Fagaceae), is Quercus coccinea Muenchh. [24,30]. Scarlet oak has been placed within the the subgenus Erythrobalanus, or red (black) oak group [20]. A rarely recognized variety, Quercus coccinea var. tuberculata Sarg., is distinguished by thickened tuberculate scales of the cup [5]. Scarlet oak hybridizes with the following species [24,30]: x Q. ilicifolia (bear oak): Q. X robbinsii Trel. x Q. velutina (black oak): Q. X fontana Laughlin x Q. palustris (pin oak)

Scarlet oak is a common component of many eastern and central dry upland
forests.  Nearly pure stands of scarlet oak grow in areas of the Ozark
Plateau in Missouri [24].  A chestnut oak (Quercus prinus)-scarlet oak
variant of the chestnut oak SAF cover type is found on upper slopes and
ridges in the central Appalachians.  Scarlet oak is also prominent in
several variants of the white oak (Q. alba)-black oak (Q.
velutina)-northern red oak (Q. rubra) SAF cover type [14].

At middle and lower elevations in the Appalachian Mountains, scarlet oak
is often a major component of pine (Pinus spp.) forests and pine heaths
[61].  Scarlet oak constitutes an important component of the subcanopy
and canopy layers of Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) forest [62].

The following published classifications list scarlet oak as a codominant
species:

Vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains [61]
Old growth forests within the Piedmont of South Carolina [25]

• More Scarlet Oak Information

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