Overcup Oak

Quercus lyrata Fagaceae

Other names

Swamp Post Oak

Growth habit

Tree

Perennation

Long-lived polycarpic perennial

Native distribution

NJ to FL and TX

Location

Houston and Grossman Ponds

Source of plant

Donald Cobb, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Morris Arboretum, Arborvillage Farm Nursery

Description

Round-headed tree with short branches and often pendulous twigs, the young shoots soft-pubescent becoming glabrous in winter. Leaves obovate-oblong, 14-20 cm long, lyre-shaped, pinnately cleft with 3-4 pairs of acute or obtuse lobes on either side, the 2 basal pairs much smaller and usually triangular, the terminal lobes usually further trilobed, dark green and eventually glabrous above, the underside white-tomentose or green and softly pubescent, base cuneate, petiole 1-2 cm long. Fruits sessile or short-stalked, acorns nearly globose or ovate , about 1.5-2.5 cm high almost fully enclosed within the cup.

USDA Hardiness Zone

6