Have you ever heard of Cow Oak?

[WDH]

Cow oak is a common name for what is more commonly known as Swamp Chestnut Oak (Quercus michauxii).  Swamp chestnut oak is in the white oak group, and like most of the oaks in the white oak group, the bark is characteristically light gray and scaly.  When I teach oak ID by the bark, I always say that if you rub the bark with your hand on most of the white oaks, the bark will flake off.  However, if you rub your hand on the bark of an oak in the red oak group, it is your skin that flakes off .

Key Characteristics:

The bark is light gray and scaly.

It is a bottomland species, and many times, the base is buttressed (flared).

The leaves have a coarsely toothed margin in a pattern called crenate.  The leaf margins look like the lip of a scallop shell to me.  I have heard the leaf margin describes as "scalloped".

The leaves are widest toward the tip with a narrow waist.

The color of the upperside of the leaf and the lowerside of the leaf is distinctly different.  There is a two-toned effect.

The acorn are very large, an inch or more long and wide.  The sweet acorns were a favorite of livestock, hence one of the common names, cow oak. 

Bark:

 

Lower bark with leaves:

 

Leaves:

Note the coarsely toothed "scalloped" margins:



Also note the color difference.  The left sample is the underside and the right sample is the upperside:

 

[Texas Ranger]

Also called basket oak, the wood splits nicely into long thin strips used in making, of all things, wood baskets.

[WDH]

Georgia Champion Swamp Chestnut Oak.  Note the buttressed base with the flutes.

 

Photo taken by Dodgy Loner .

[WDH]

TR,

The photos of the bark and leaves came from a tree in Polk County, Texas .

[Texas Ranger]

Polk County is home, in part, to the Big Thicket, bits and pieces of which are preserved in the Big Thicket National Preserve.  There are some 9 (or more, depending on your "expert") separate identifiable biomes that exist here, starting from the coastal marsh area on up.  I have found it fascinating to wander in some of the areas and find more species of trees associated with each other than any other place I have been.  Makes a botanists life hectic, a dendrologist life interesting, and a foresters life a joy.

[WDH]

I am headed there my next trip over .

[Texas Ranger]

Let me know, may go with ya, show ya a cypress of interest, or at least let ya have some of that Texas spring water.

[WDH]

The spring water did the trick .  I will call you .

[Dodgy Loner]

That champion cow oak looks even more impressive when you see it in person and have to strain your neck to see all 130' of it!

[WDH]

We were on a tree hunting trip on New Years Day a few years back.  I told Dodgy Loner of the champion shumard oak that I found, and he wanted to see it.  We went to the hardwood bottom, went downstream, and saw the shumard oak.  I told him that I had never been upstream, but as the area had not been harvested for maybe 75 or 100 years (estimate only), I figured there may be something else big upstream.  Sure enough, not more than 1000 feet away we found this magnificant swamp chestnut oak.  Now, that was a fine way to start the new year.  Dodgy Loner, DanG has a hampering to go tree hunting in an area near him.  I told him that we could probably accomodate him .

[Dodgy Loner]

I do believe we could  .  He's sure to find some champs with two seasoned pros like us by his side  .  You'll have to let me know when.  Life is a bit hectic around here right now, what with trying to get my thesis done by the end of June and all. 

[DanG]

I just been wanting to get WDH down here to stomp through some of the Torreyan Ravines, then along comes you and I sez, "What could be cooler than tagging along with the two of them and just listening?"  I have some friends that live along one of the ravines, so we have an open invite.  I'd also like for you to visit Torreya State Park to walk the bluffs along the river there.  There is a tremendous diversity of species in those woods.

BTW, I just learned of a champion tree on an aquaintance's place.  The guy that told me about it couldn't even remember what species it is.  I'll update when I find out.

[WDH]

Once we let the studious Dodgy Loner finish his thesis, I sure we could twist the arm of the tree-hunting Dodgy Loner to come to Chattahoochee.

Who knows what we might find .

Just an after thought.......that Wisconsin Chapter had a big log cutting event.  Maybe the Southern Chapter, since we only have puny logs, ought to have a tree ID Field Day .

[DanG]

Well now, dat's a thought, ain't it?  Torreya Park would be the perfect place.  There are several marked trails to explore,  full camping, picnic and restroom facilities, and the best part is, it ain't crowded.  In fact, the place is usually deserted.  There is probably a wider variety of tree species there than any other one spot in the South, and at least one that you won't likely see anywhere else. 

Now, just how long before DL gets done writing his book report?  We can't have no lollygagging around, here.  I'm gittin' OLD!

BTW, I did learn that the Fla. Champion I mentioned earlier is one of the Magnolias.  I should find out which one tomorrow.

[WDH]

DL said it would take him into June to get his little book report done.  We might just have to go look at this big magnolia (or cousin thereof) when we get down there  .  There might even be a big cow oak, too .

[DanG]

I know where there's a pretty good-sized oak that may well be of the bovine ilk.  We could shore go look and see.   Oh yeah, maybe while we're gawking at that magnolia, y'all could help me figger out how to retrieve that humongous poplar that fell into the ravine a while back.  I ain't seen it yet, but folks are tellin' me that it's gonna be a real challenge to get out.  Y'all bring yer thinkin' caps, ok?

[WDH]

  Y'all bring yer thinkin' caps, ok?

That is Dodgy Loners job; he has the cap

[tcsmpsi]

We have a notable Magnolia here in the Big Thicket.  Well, at least we did.  I haven't been to see it in...well, longer than I thought.

It resides on part of the Lone Star Trail, which I used to traverse parts of from time to time. 

Now, my curiosity is up.  I may just have to break away in the near future and see if my old friend is still up and prospering.

Thanks for the reminder, DanG.     

[WDH]

Tcsmpsi,

If you go, I wanna go too .

[tcsmpsi]

Well, I'll set aside the time...if you will.   

It's over in the Sam Houston Nat. Forest, which isn't far.  Actually, along that stretch of trail, there are quite a diverse family of Magnolia and others. 

There's about 25-30 miles of the Lone Star Trail (about 130 miles) in the Sam Houston.

Just how long would you like to stay?   

[WDH]

Oh, no more than a week or two .

[Larry]

I took a picture just because of the extreme twist.  Put a name on it as chestnut oak.

 

 

Did I pass?  Or could it be something else?

[WDH]

I think that it is one of three possible choices. 

It could easily be swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii).  Our good old cow oak.

It could easily be chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii).

It is unlikely, but remotely possibly swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor).

It is not chestnut oak (Quercus prinus (or montana in some texts)).  Chestnut oak has dark bark with pronounced v-shaped fisures, not light and scaly.  In the photo, the bark looks light and scaly.

The coarse teeth on the margin are more rounded in swamp chestnut oak and more sharply pointed  in chinquapin oak (almost slightly swollen at the tip, a structure called glandular).  However, the big kicker is the acorn.  The swamp chestnut oak acorn is 4 times the size of chinquapin oak oak (which is no bigger than the end of your forefinger).  The swamp chestnut oak acorn can be as big as a ping pong ball.

Another real distinguishing feature is the site.  Swamp chestnut oak is a bottomland oak.  Chinquapin oak is not.  It likes limestone ridges and more calcareous soils.  What I am trying to say is that they do not occur together. 

If the acorns are really large, I go with swamp chestnut oak.
If they are average to small, I go with chinquapin oak.

Larry, are the acorns fit to feed cows with .

Right now I lean to chinquapin oak because of where you are located and because the teeth on the leaf margins look pretty sharp. 

[Larry]

Small acorns...guess we settled that one.  Its a chinquapin oak.

[Dodgy Loner]

The prospect of visiting this Torreya State Park that DanG talks about has really perked up dendrological brain cells (which is most of them).  I've always wanted to see them growing in the wild.  Is this also the park that houses the Florida yew?  That'd be something to see also.

BTW, I agree with the determination of chinquapin oak.

[WDH]

The prospect of visiting this Torreya State Park that DanG talks about has really perked up dendrological brain cells (which is most of them).  I've always wanted to see them growing in the wild.

DL,

I have never seen dendrological brain cells growing in the wild, either . 

[tcsmpsi]

WDH

It is with notable sadness that I relate, having checked with the service, our magnificent Magnolia was "withdrawn" some 10 yrs. ago.   

[WDH]

That is sad.  Maybe there is another big one somewhere over there .

[tcsmpsi]

There is one which took the place of the previous champ, but it is not near the area.

However, in the Big Creek area, where my buddy was withdrawn, it is recognized for its richness in species of others as well as Magnolias.  'Surprisingly' so, that part of the trail is known as "Magnolia Loop".

I was concerned, once I had got to thinking about it again, that there might be possibility of its withdrawal.  It had a large hollow, which would easily accomodate a human creature.  I know one who had spent quite a bit of time in there.   

[WDH]

That gives a new meaning to "OneWithWood" .

[tcsmpsi]

Perhaps, not so much a new meaning.  Rather, application of one rather old.