Comments
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Quercus laurifolia apparently flowers two weeks earlier than sympatric Quercus hemisphaerica (W. H. Duncan and M. B. Duncan 1988). It reportedly hybridizes with Q . falcata , Q . incana , and Q . nigra (H. A. Fowells 1965); with Q . hemisphaerica , Q . marilandica , Q . myrtifolia , Q . phellos , and Q . shumardii (D. M. Hunt 1989); and with Q . velutina .
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Description
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Trees , tardily deciduous, to 40 m. Bark dark brown to black, ridges flat, furrows deep. Twigs red-brown, (1-)1.5-2.5 mm diam., glabrous. Terminal buds dark red-brown, ovoid to subconic, 2.5-6 mm, distinctly 5-angled in cross section, glabrous or with tuft of reddish hairs at apex. Leaves: petiole 1.5-5 mm, glabrous. Leaf blade rhombic or broadly elliptic to obovate, occasionally oblong or spatulate, 30-120 × 15-45 mm, thin, base attenuate or cuneate, rarely obtuse, margins entire with 1 apical awn, apex obtuse or rounded; surfaces abaxially glabrous, adaxially glabrous, veins raised. Acorns biennial; cup shallowly saucer-shaped to deeply bowl-shaped, 3.5-9 mm high × 11-17 mm wide, covering 1/4-1/2 nut, outer surface puberulent, inner surface pubescent at least 1/2 distance to rim, scale tips appressed, acute or attenuate; nut globose or ovoid, 8.5-16 × 10-16 mm, glabrate, scar diam. 6.5-11.5 mm.
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Distribution
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Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tex., Va.
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Flowering/Fruiting
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Flowering spring.
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Habitat
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Sandy flood plains and bottoms, riverbanks, and terraces, occasionally on poorly drained uplands; 0-150m.
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Synonym
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Quercus obtusa (Willdenow) Ashe; Q. rhombica Sargent
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Associated Forest Cover
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Laurel oak is a major species in the forest cover type Willow
Oak-Water Oak-Diamond-leaf (Laurel) Oak (Society of American
Foresters Type 88) (5). Diamond-leaf oak makes up most of the
stand in this type where drainage is poor, sometimes forming
almost pure stands, while laurel oak grows on the better drained
sites such as sandy banks of streams.
Laurel oak is also an associated species in the following forest
cover types: Cabbage Palmetto (Type 74), Loblolly Pine (Type 81),
Longleaf Pine-Slash Pine (Type 83), Sweetgum-Willow Oak (Type
92), and Baldcypress-Tupelo (Type 102).
Associated tree species may include Nuttall oak (Quercus
nuttallii), red maple (Acer rubrum), green ash (Fraxinus
pennsylvanica), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), swamp
hickory (Carya glabra), honeylocust (Gleditsia
triacanthos); and on wetter sites water hickory (Carya
aquatica), waterlocust (Gleditsia aquatica), and
overcup oak (Q. lyrata). On better drained sites laurel
oak may be associated with spruce pine (Pinus glabra), loblolly
pine (P. taeda), swamp chestnut oak (Q.
michauxii), and cherrybark oak (Q. falcata var. pagodifolia)
(5).
In Florida, southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), American
beech (Fagus grandifolia), pignut hickory (C. glabra
var. glabra), Carolina basswood (Tilia
caroliniana), and scrub hickory (C. floridana) are
associates.
Around Charleston, SC, laurel oak's tree associates include redbud
(Cercis canadensis), American beech, yellow-poplar (Liriodendron
tulipifera), southern magnolia, spruce pine, white oak (Q.
alba), and Carolina basswood. Associated shrubs and vines
include crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), sweet
rhododendron (Rhododendron canescens), sweetleaf (Symplocos
tinctoria), and muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia).
Associated shrubs and small trees include American hornbeam (Carpinus
caroliniana), Virginia-willow (Itea virginica), poison-sumac
(Toxicodendron vernix), swamp cyrilla (Cyrilla
racemiflora), littleleaf cyrilla (C. racemiflora var.
parvifolia), sebastian bush (Sebastiana ligustrina),
dahoon (Ilex cassine), possumhaw (I. decidua),
swamp dogwood (Cornus stricta), sweet pepperbush (Clethra
alnifolia), tree lyonia (Lyonia ferruginea), buttonbush
(Cephalanthus occidentalis), pinckneya (Pinckneya
pubens), and rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.).
Associated vines include coral greenbrier (Smilax walteri),
laurelleaf greenbrier (S. laurifolia), and Alabama
supplejack (Berchemia scandens) (14).
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Climate
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Rainfall averages between 1250 and 1500 mm (49 to 59 in) a year
over the natural range of laurel oak. From 500 to 1000 mm (20 to
39 in) of this is received during the growing season from April
to September, except during occasional years when there is a
summer or fall drought lasting 1 to 3 months. Average annual
temperatures across the range of laurel oak vary from 16° to
21° C (61° to 70° F). Extreme lows range from -1°
to -18° C (30° to 0° F). Extreme highs range from
38° to 43° C (100° to 109° F). Relative
humidities seldom fall below 60 percent. The frost-free season
extends from 220 days in the north to more than 320 days in south
Florida.
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Damaging Agents
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Fire is especially hazardous to laurel
oaks. They are frequently killed by even light ground fires and
heartrots are common in trees subject to occasional burns (14).
Laurel oak is host to the general oak-feeding insects but no
serious insect problem is mentioned in the literature. Several
species of Curculio weevils infest acorns, including
those of laurel oak (1).
Although not seriously harmed themselves, laurel oak, water oak,
and willow oak are the three most susceptible hosts for the
alternate stage of fusiform rust (Cronartium quercuum f.
sp. fusiforme) of southern pines. Laurel oak is also
susceptible to oak leaf blister (Taphrina caerulescens), actinopelte
spot (Actinopelte dryina), and canker rots by various
fungi (8).
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Flowering and Fruiting
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Laurel oak is monoecious; stamens
and pistils are in separate flowers on the same tree. Staminate
flowers are home in naked catkins developing from leaf axils of
the previous year. Pistillate flowers are usually solitary, on
short, stout, glabrous stalks developing from axils of leaves of
the current year. Flowering occurs in February and March, about
the time the last of the previous year's leaves are shed (15).
Pollen is wind disseminated. Flower crops are abundant almost
every year.
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Genetics
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In the past, laurel oak and diamond-leaf oak have been considered
by some to be two varieties or even separate species (11). Trees
first recognized as laurel oak were on well-drained sandy banks
of streams whereas diamond-leaf oak was found on poorly
drained flat sites (5).
Burke concluded that laurel oak itself is of hybrid origin,
intermediate between and derived from willow oak and water oak
(2,3). His work is based on a leaf-shape index applied to
seedlings grown from acorns collected on the North Carolina Outer
Banks and at Chapel Hill, NC. He states that laurel oak is not
found outside the ranges of the two supposed parental
species. This would appear true based on most published maps
showing the range of willow oak available in 1961 and
1963, when Burke's publications appeared. However, the range map
for willow oak published in 1965 (14) shows willow oak to be
absent in the southeastern half of Georgia and peninsular Florida
where laurel oak grows in abundance, leaving some doubt that
laurel oak is the hybrid between willow and water oak (14).
The following hybrids with Quercus laurifolia as one
parent have been recognized (11): Quercus falcata Q x
beaumontiana Sarg.), Q. incana Q. x atlantica Ashe),
Q. laevis Q. x mellichampii Trel.), and Q.
marilandica Q. x diversiloba Tharp ex A. Camus).
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Growth and Yield
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Laurel oak grows rapidly and usually
matures in about 50 years which has led to its wide use as an
ornamental (14).
Southeastern Forest Survey data show the largest volume of laurel
oak in the 25- to 36-cm (10- to 14-in) d.b.h. classes with
average total heights from 18 to 21 in (59 to 69 ft). It has the
poorest timber quality of the red and black oaks, producing
sawtimber only on the best sites. It is marketed mainly as
pulpwood. Considering live volume of trees 13 cm (5 in) in d.b.h.
and up from a stump height of 30 cm (12 in) and a top diameter of
10 cm (4 in), laurel oak has an average annual mortality of 1.1
percent, an average annual growth of 4.1 percent, and an average
annual removal of 2.0 percent. It shares a high mortality rate
with water oak because of their relatively thin bark among oaks
and susceptibility to fire. Only about half of laurel oak's
growth is harvested each year. In an assessment of aboveground
biomass of trees 2.5 cm (1 in) in d.b.h. and larger, laurel oak
constituted 3.4 percent of associated hardwood biomass and 8.4
percent of the oak biomass. A conservative estimate of growth is
6.4 em (2.5 in) in d.b.h. every 10 years (9).
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Reaction to Competition
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Laurel oak is classed as shade
tolerant from seedling to mature tree and often becomes
established and grows up through the dense canopy of a swamp
border. Natural pruning is poor and large limbs persist on the
bole many years, even under a dense canopy (14).
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Rooting Habit
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-Laurel oak develops a large well-defined
taproot on upland sands as observed on trees uprooted for road
construction (12). No published information on the rooting habits
of laurel oak was found.
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Seed Production and Dissemination
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Laurel oak acorns are
brown to almost black, 13 mm (0.5 in) in both diameter and
length, with one-quarter or less enclosed in a thin saucerlike
cup (7). Acorn production begins when the trees are 15 to 20
years old; they soon become prolific bearers. Acorns require 2
years to mature and fall to the ground during late September and
October. Some of the acorn caps remain attached to the tree.
There are about 1,235 sound, uncapped laurel oak acorns per
kilogram (560/lb). Acorn dissemination is mainly by squirrels but
is aided by gravity and runoff during rains. Most sound acorns
sink but some float and are carried a long distance (14,15).
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Seedling Development
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Acorns of trees in the black oak
group, to which laurel oak belongs, show embryo dormancy and
germinate the following spring after fall ripening. Germination
is hypogeal (15). Laurel oak acorns exhibit only mild dormancy.
Without any cold stratification, germinative capacity in two
samples of laurel oak acorns was 50 percent (15). In another
test, germination of laurel oak acorns, with one exception, was
unaffected or only slightly increased by 30 days' soaking in
distilled water (10). There are few or no published descriptions
of laurel oak seedling development after acorn germination.
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Soils and Topography
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Laurel oak is most common on alluvial flood plains. It tolerates
the wetter sites in association with other oak species but does
not withstand continuous or prolonged flooding. It is most often
found growing in sandy soil near rivers and along the edges of
swamps if not too frequently flooded. Laurel oak grows in the
hammocks of central Florida and on sand hills adjacent to swamps
in west Florida. It is also planted as an ornamental with little
regard to soil type (14). Laurel oak grows best on Ultisols and
Inceptisols.
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Special Uses
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Laurel oak has been widely planted in the South as an ornamental,
perhaps because of the attractive leaves from which it takes its
common name.
Large crops of laurel oak acorns are produced regularly and are an
important food for white-tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels, wild
turkeys, ducks, quail, and smaller birds and rodents (4).
Comparing volumes of the 10 most heavily used fall and
winter food items found in 423 rumen samples of deer from
Florida, laurel oak acorns rated fifth, sixth, or seventh highest
in quantity consumed in a 6-year period (6). Acorns were most
frequently consumed and in the largest quantity by 32 wild
turkeys whose crops were examined in Florida; of the
identified acorns, laurel oak was second only to live oak in
quantity and frequency (13).
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Vegetative Reproduction
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When cut or burned, a young
laurel oak produces many sprouts from the base of its stump.
Older trees do not sprout vigorously, and their sprouts are more
susceptible to decay than those of young trees (14).
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Brief Summary
provided by Silvics of North America
Fagaceae -- Beech family
Robert D. McReynolds and E. A. Hebb
Laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) is also called Darlington
oak, diamond-leaf oak, swamp laurel oak, laurel-leaf oak, water
oak, and obtusa oak. There has been a long history of
disagreement concerning the identity of this oak (11). It centers
on the variation in leaf shapes and differences in growing sites
(5), giving some reason to name a separate species, diamond-leaf
oak (Q. obtusa). Here they are treated synonymously.
Laurel oak is a rapid-growing short-lived tree of the moist woods
of the southeastern Coastal Plain. It has no value as lumber but
makes good fuelwood. It is planted in the South as an ornamental.
Large crops of acorns are important food for wildlife.
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Distribution
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Laurel oak is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from
southeastern Virginia to southern Florida and westward to
southeastern Texas with some island populations found north of
its contiguous natural range. The best formed and largest number
of laurel oaks are found in north Florida and in Georgia.
-The native range of laurel oak.
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Quercus laurifolia
provided by wikipedia EN
Quercus laurifolia (swamp laurel oak, diamond-leaf oak, water oak, obtusa oak, laurel oak) is a medium-sized semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the southeastern and south-central the United States.
Description
Quercus laurifolia is a tree growing to 20–24 meters (65–80 feet) (rarely to 40 m or 130 ft) tall, with a large, circular crown. The leaves are broad lanceolate, 2.5–12.7 centimeters (1–5 inches) long and 1.3–4.4 cm (1⁄2–1+3⁄4 in) broad, and unlobed (very rarely three-lobed) with an entire margin and a bristle tip; they typically fall just as the new leaves start to emerge in spring. The acorns, borne in a shallow cup, are hemispherical, 8.9–12.7 millimeters (3⁄8–1⁄2 in) long, green, maturing blackish-brown about 18 months after pollination. Acorn production is often heavy, enhancing the species' value for wildlife.[3]
The leaves of swamp laurel oak are occasionally three-lobed, as seen above.
The seedlings show embryo dormancy and germinate the following spring after fall ripening; germination is hypogeal.
Swamp laurel oak grows rapidly and usually matures in about 50 years.
A similar evergreen oak that also grows in sandy soils is Quercus hemisphaerica, the sand laurel oak.
Taxonomy
The botanist C.J. Burke[4][5] suggested that swamp laurel oak is of hybrid origin having been derived from willow oak (Quercus phellos) and water oak (Quercus nigra); it is not found outside the ranges of the two supposed parental species. This conclusion was based on an index from leaf-shape on seedlings grown from acorns. However, this theory has not achieved wide support, with current authors accepting Quercus laurifolia as a distinct species (e.g. Flora of North America).[3]
Distribution and habitat
Swamp laurel oak grows from coastal Virginia to central Florida and west to southeast Texas.[6] There are reports of the species growing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but these probably represent introductions.[7]
The species is found mostly on alluvial flood plains, from sea level up to 150 m (490 ft) altitude. It will tolerate the wetter sites in association with other oak species but will not live with continuous or prolonged flooding. It is most often found growing in sandy soil near rivers and along the edges of swamps if not too frequently flooded. Swamp laurel oak grows in the hammocks of central Florida and on sand hills adjacent to swamps in west Florida. Swamp laurel oak grows best on ultisols and inceptisols.
The range has average annual temperatures from 16 to 21 °C (61 to 70 °F). It can withstand extreme lows ranging from −1 to −28 °C (30 to −18 °F). Extreme highs range from 38 to 43 °C (100 to 109 °F).
It needs between 1,250–1,500 mm (49–59 in) of rainfall a year. From 500–1,000 mm (20–39 in) of this is received during the growing season from April to September.
The laurel oak is probably one of the most cold-hardy evergreen oaks. Trees growing in Cincinnati indicate the laurel oak may be hardy even further north than previously thought tolerating temperatures lower than −29 °C (−20 °F) and surviving into zone 5. In Cincinnati trees have been observed staying green well into December.
Ecology
Known hybrids with Quercus laurifolia as one parent are with Q. falcata (Q × beaumontiana Sarg.), Q. incana (Q. × atlantica Ashe), and Q. marilandica (Q. × diversiloba Tharp ex A. Camus).
The tree is host to the general oak-feeding insects but has no serious insect problems. Several species of Curculio weevils infest the acorns.
Despite their bitter kernel, the acorns are eaten by deer (including white-tailed deer), squirrels, birds[3] (including ducks, bobwhite quail and wild turkeys), raccoons and small rodents.
Uses
It is grown and marketed mainly as pulpwood. It is commonly used as an ornamental tree in landscaping because of its fast growth and pleasing appearance; it is planted with little regard to soil type.
References
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^ Wenzell , K.; Kenny, L. (2015). "Quercus laurifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T194186A2303387. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194186A2303387.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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^ "Quercus laurifolia Michx.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
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^ a b c Nixon, Kevin C. (1997). "Quercus laurifolia". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
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^ Burke, C. J. (1961). An evaluation of three hybrid-containing oak populations on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 78(l):18-21.
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^ Burke, C. J. (1963). The hybrid nature of Quercus laurifolia. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 79(2):159-163.
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^ Interactive Distribution Map of Quercus laurifolia
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^ "Quercus laurifolia". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
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Quercus laurifolia: Brief Summary
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Quercus laurifolia (swamp laurel oak, diamond-leaf oak, water oak, obtusa oak, laurel oak) is a medium-sized semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the southeastern and south-central the United States.
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