Blackjack oak
Dormant blackjack in the Cross Timbers of Lincoln County, Oklahoma
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Quercus
Subgenus:	Quercus subg. Quercus
Section:	Quercus sect. Lobatae
Species:
Binomial name
*Quercus marilandica* Muenchh.^[2]
Generalized natural range of Quercus marilandica
Synonyms^[3]^[4]
Quercus cuneataWangenh. Quercus dilatataRaf. Quercus ferrugineaF.Michx. Quercus neoasheiBush Quercus nobilisMast.

Quercus marilandica, the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak groupQuercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the eastern and central United States, from Long Island to Florida, west as far as Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. There are reports of a few isolated populations in southern Michigan, but these appear to represent introductions.^[5]^[6]

The blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) has three lobes so shallow that the leaf almost has a pear shape to it. One of the biggest threats to oak trees in Texas is oak wilt, an often deadly fungal disease which compromises the tree’s ability to retain water. Although all oaks are vulnerable to this pathogen, red oaks, including Texas oaks, Shumard oaks, blackjack oaks and water oaks are the most at risk. Propagating Oak Trees. For convenience, the many species of oak are divided into two main groups: red oaks and white oaks. You can tell which group an oak belongs to by taking a close look at the leaves. Red oak leaves have pointed lobes with little bristles at the tips, while the lobes on white oak leaves are rounded.

Blackjack oak leaves

Blackjack oak stump, approx. 75 years old

Quercus marilandica is a small deciduoustree growing to 15 meters (49 feet) tall, with bark cracked into rectangular black plates with narrow orange fissures. The leaves are 7–20 cm (3–8 in) long and broad, and typically flare from a tapered base to a broad three-lobed bell shape with only shallow indentations. They are dark green and glossy above, pubescent underneath, and often remain attached to the twigs through the winter after turning colors from red to brown in the fall. The acorn is small, 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long and 10–18 mm (0.39–0.71 in) broad; like other red oaks, it takes 18 months to mature.^[7]

Habitat and distribution[edit]

What Does Blackjack Oak Look Like Mean

The blackjack oak grows in poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other woody plants can thrive, usually on low ground, from sea level up to approximately 2,800 feet (850 meters) in altitude. Some commentators say that it does not have the beautiful form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing in problem sites.^[8] Some say that the tree is 'tough but ugly', but also underappreciated.^[9]^[10] At times the tree has even been actively eradicated to provide room for trees deemed to be more commercially valuable.^[11]

It is sometimes an understory tree in pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern US. Along the coastal plain of New Jersey the probability of finding this species is increased in relatively sunny, open areas such as those near coastal salt marshes. It often occurs near scarlet and post oaks as well as pitch pine; understory companions include winged sumac, bracken, sweetfern, and bayberry, and can be found as far north as parts of Ohio^[12] and New York.

A variety, Quercus marilandica Münchhausen var. asheiSudworth,^[7] grows in the western portions of its range – northern Texas, Oklahoma, and into southern Kansas. In this area, blackjack and post oak form a semi-savanna area composed of forested strips intermixed with prairie grass glades along the eastern edge of the southern Great Plains. This semi-savanna is known as the Cross Timbers.^[13]^[14]^[15] Scrub forms of Q. marilandica dominate on many chert glades along with Q.stellata in Arkansas's Ozark plateau.^[16]

Blackjack oak sometimes hybridizes with bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia), forming a hybrid known as Q. × brittonii.^[17]

Blackjacks in the Cross Timbers can grow from 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) high with a trunk diameter of 16 inches (41 cm), but seldom reach more than 40 feet (12 m). The leaves are from 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) in length and about the same width. Blackjack acorns provide food for both whitetail deer and wild turkey. Blackjacks may, however, cause tannic acid poisoning in cattle.

Uses[edit]

The wood is very dense and produces a hot flame when burned, which functions as an excellent source of heat for barbecues and wood-burning stoves. However, the wood is not desirable for wood fireplaces because the heat causes popping, thereby increasing the risk of house fires.^[18]

Traditionally blackjack wood is used as both a fuel and smoke wood for barbecue in Oklahoma.

References[edit]

^Wenzell, K.; Kenny, L. (2015). 'Quercus marilandica'. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.old-form url
^Münchhausen, Otto von (1770). 'Verzeichniß der Bäume und Stauden, welche in Deutschland fortkommen'. Der Hausvater. 5. Hannover: Försters und Sohns Erben. pp. 253: diagnosis in Latin, description in German in Teutonic script.
^'Quercus marilandica (L.) Münchh'. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 31 October 2017 – via The Plant List.
^'Quercus marilandica Münchh'. Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^'Quercus marilandica Range Map'(PDF). United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
^'Quercus marilandica'. County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^ ^a^bNixon, Kevin C. (1997). 'Quercus marilandica'. In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 3. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 31 October 2017 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
^Liming, Franklin G. (1 March 1942). 'Blackjack Oak in the Missouri Ozarks'. Journal of Forestry. Society of American Foresters. 40 (3): 249–252.
^Klingaman, Gerald (September 22, 2000). 'Plant of the Week: Blackjack Oak'. Extension News. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^Nelson, John (12 January 2017). 'Blackjack oak grows in hardscrabble habitat'. Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. Retrieved 31 Octo