Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Fagales>Fagaceae>Quercus montana Willdenow

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) leaves

Chestnut Oak is a large tree in the White Oak group that is a dominant tree of rocky hilltops and mountains in the Piedmont and Mountain regions of North Carolina.

Hanging Rock, Stokes Co., NC 5/27/12.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) leaf

The leaves are evenly and bluntly toothed, slightly reminiscent of the sharply toothed leaves of American Chestnut (Castanea dentata).

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) acorn

Acorn.

This species is also known as Quercus prinus. The name prinus is older, but it's not clear whether it refers to Chestnut Oak or Swamp Chestnut Oak (Q. michauxii). The name prinus was formally rejected in 2007. See Weakley's Flora for details.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) bark

Chestnut Oak's bark is very distinctive, with long, deep, tight ridges.

The bark is deeply ridged even on medium-small trees.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) bark

The only similar bark in our area is found on the otherwise dissimilar Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum).

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) bark

Bark of a large tree.

Orange Co., NC 3/11/07.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) bark

Orange Co., NC 4/4/09.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) acorn

Orange Co., NC 9/4/2012.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) acorn cap

Orange Co., NC 9/4/2012.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) acorns

Orange Co., NC 9/4/2012.

Chestnut Oak (Quercus prinus/Quercus montana) leaf underside

Orange Co., NC 9/4/2012.