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Swamp Willow Oak

The Quercus Phellos is commonly known as Peach Oak, Pin Oak, Swamp Willow Oak, as well as Willow Oak

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Growing Regions

Willow oak occurs on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania to Georgia and northern Florida; west to east Texas; and north in the Mississippi River valley to southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western and southern Kentucky, and eastern Tennessee. Willow oak is absent from peninsular Florida and southeastern Georgia [21,30].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of willow oak is Quercus phellos L. [21,30]. It has been placed within the subgenus Erythrobalanus or black (red) oak group. There are no recognized varieties, subspecies, or forms. Willow oak hybridizes with the following species [21,30]: x Q. velutina (black oak): Q. X. filialis Little x Q. falcata (southern red oak): Q. X. ludoviciana Sarg. x Q. ilicifolia (bear oak): Q. X. giffordii Trel. x Q. marilandica (blackjack oak): Q. X. rudkinii Britton x Q. nigra (water oak): Q. X. capesii W. Wolf x Q. palustris (pin oak): Q. X. schociana Dieck x Q. rubra (northern red oak): Q. X. heterophylla Michx. f. x Q. shumardii (Shumard oak): Q. X. moultonensis Ashe x Q. incana (bluejack oak) 

Willow oak is commonly found in transitional communities between swamps
and upland mesic forests [1,28].  The willow oak-water oak-laurel oak
(Q. laurifolia) forest cover type is located topographically between the
swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii)-cherrybark oak (Q. falcata var.
pagodifolia) type on the higher, better drained sites and the overcup
oak (Q. lyrata)-water hickory (Carya aquatica) type on the lower, more
poorly drained sites.  Within the willow oak-water oak-laurel oak type,
willow oak is generally located between laurel oak on the more poorly
drained sites and water oak on the better drained sites [10].  The
following published classifications list laurel oak as a dominant
species:

   Southern swamps and marshes [28]
   Forest vegetation of the Big Thicket, southeast Texas [23]
   Eastern deciduous forest [38]
   The natural communities of South Carolina [25]

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Carey, Jennifer H. 1992. Quercus phellos. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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