15 Types of Oak Trees in Florida: Identification Guide (Chart, Pictures)

1. Bluejack Oak

• Leaves: Cupped leaves, blueish-ashy green foliage, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate in shape, smooth edges or margins, the tip of the leaf – pointed, silvery underside,  has a light layer of hair⁴
• Flowers: Drooping yellowish-red catkins male flowers in spring, female flowers – produced in pairs or singly on short stalks
• Bark: Dark gray-black, thick, wide furrows that form rough square plates

(Image: By Yercaud-elango¹¹)

• Acorns: Mature in two years, yields  small, brown nuts (ranges from 3/8 to 5/8 inches long), top quarter of the nut is attached to a reddish-brown cup with hair on its underside

(Image: Chris Light¹²)

• Bark: Smooth & brown bark during its early years, furrowed, gray – black, and rough as it ages

2. Black Oak

• Leaves: Bluish-green on the leaf surface, paler beneath, spatulate, lanceolate,  variable, or spatulate in shape, may have 0 – 5 lobes, margins are bristle-tipped or smooth
• Flowers: Drooping catkins in male flowers, female flowers look like short spikes
• Acorns: Half an inch to one inch almost black acorn with a scaled, flat, cap that is on almost a third of the nut

3. Chinkapin Oak

• Leaves: A smooth upper surface, shiny-green leaves with dull undersurface & may contain white hairs, small, toothed or  lobed margins which are wavy sometimes, pointed tip(acute) & a rounded base or acute, various colors in Fall – yellows to browns
• Flowers: Elongated clusters, pollen flowers in drooping, female flowers – they are short-stemmed in axils of the tree leaves
• Bark: Rough, light gray, thin, & irregularly fissured bark

(Image: Vojtěch Zavadil¹³)

• Acorns: ½ to 1 inch , oval, long, and light brown acorns that appear each year with one to two acorns in each stem, a thin and gray cup with hairs and that covers a quarter to half of acorn nut

5. Post Oak

• Leaves: Turns golden brown sometimes in the fall, it is star-shaped and the green leaves feel and look leathery, they are 3 – 8 inches long and have wavy margins that are deeply lobed, have reticulated and pinnate venation, rounded lobes, and up to four on each side, the upper pair is often much larger than the others, which forms a maltese cross shape
• Flowers: Male flowers appear in catkins – yellowish. Female flowers are much shorter and are near the twig tips, they bloom in April
• Bark: Younger trees have a scaly bark, mature ones have a gray – brownish-gray bark, and they also have a rough texture and ridges

(Image: psweet¹⁴)

• Acorns: Egg-shaped acorns, brown, and are produced either in pairs or solitary, they are either short-stalked or sessile,1/2 – 3/4 inch long with caps that extend to about one-third of the acorn, small appressed scales on the caps and they are light tan or light gray, the acorns are in a reddish-brown color and are ½ inch – 1 inch long

(Image: Doug Goldman¹⁵)

• Acorns: 5 – 1-inch brown acorns that are paired or oval and solitary, they are 1/3 – 1/2 covered with a gray cap with scales. The acorns mature in one year

6. Bluff Oak

• Leaves: Four to eight inches long and two to four inches wide, they are narrow with irregular, shallow, and rounded lobes, they can be sinuate, the leaves are green to gray-green in color and have secondary veins on either side, the young ones have hairs & mature ones do not, they turn orange copper or yellow in fall⁵
• Flowers: Yellow-brown male catkins. Gold/Yellow, Brown/Copper
• Bark: Scaly, gray, pale, and has broad ridges

7. Shumard Oak

• Leaves: 4 – 9 inches, simple leaves, alternate, with five – nine deep lobes. The undersides are a bit pale and have the axils have hair, the leaves have reddish-purple new growth that transforms to dark green in summer, they are reddish-orange in Fall and leaves fall clean,
• Flowers: Male flowers will be produced in yellowish-green and clustered catkins
• Bark: Smooth when young, grey-brown in color, it turns black and has flat ridges with age

(Image: Neonfreon¹⁶)

• Acorns: 3/4 to 1-inch oval acorns that have a shallow thin and scaly brown cap. The cap covering ½ to 1/3 of the nut and it matures in two years

(Image: Famartin¹⁷)

• Acorns: Up to 5/8 inch, biennial oval – round dark brown acorns, the cap covers ¼ to 1/3 of the nut

8. Myrtle Oak

• Leaves: Two inches long by one inch wide, dark green, leathery, evergreen, and shiny leaves, they are a lighter green-yellowish bloom underneath. The entire margins are rolled under and have a bristled tip. Leaves stay on the tree until new ones form in spring
• Flowers: Male flowers in catkins
• Bark: Smooth, becomes furrowed as it ages, dark gray to brown in color

9. Southern Live Oak

• Leaves: Alternate, thick, green leaves that are two to five inches long & 0.8 to 1.5 inches wide, they are shiny on the upper surface & are pale with some gray tomentose hairs on the underside. They have a rounded – oblong – elliptic-obovate shape that has margins on the entire leaf but on new and young trees the margins are toothed. The leaves persist until winter²
• Flowers: Elongated clusters on male flowers that are drooping, have 1 – 5 on pendulous catkins. They bloom in April
• Bark: Dark brown, tinged with red, and are slightly furrowed

(Image: Plant Image Library from Boston, USA¹⁸)

• Acorns: Egg-shaped, 0.75 – 1-inch acorns on long stalks. They are produced in clusters of five or singly. They have bowl-shaped caps that have tiny sharp-pointed scales. They cove 1/3 of the nut and the fruits are available from September – November

(Image: USDA¹⁹)

• Acorns: Half to one inch almost black acorns that have a flat, scaly cap that covers about a third of the nut. The acorn needs two growing seasons to achieve maturity. Involucral bracts are found in shallow cups & are imbricated. In North Carolina, the acorns are produced from September – November
• Bark: Brown and smooth in early years and gray-black, furrowed when older, it is also rough

10. Water Oak

• Leaves: They have a bluish-green – dark green color in Summer, are dull, 2 – 4 inches long, and 1 – 2 inches wide, they are bluish-green on the upper surface & appear paler with hairs on the undersides. alternate, simple, narrowly obovate – spatulate, the apex is shallowly lobed(with 3 lobes) or no lobes at all, the lobes are bristle-tipped while others lack bristles, the base is long & tapering from the center of the leaf, The midrib has 2 conspicuous lateral veins where the leaf broadens, has pubescent tuft in axils. Leaves may stay on throughout the winter in zones eight & nine in the Fall
• Flowers: Male flowers – drooping catkins & female flowers – spikes. In North Carolina, flowers are available in April

11. Willow Oak

• Leaves: Bright green to dark green in Summer, yellow-brown, yellow-orange, and reddish shade in fall, bristle-tipped, smooth-edged, and narrow⁶
• Flowers: Yellow-green female and male catkins that are produced in the spring
• Acorns: Half-an-inch long, rounded acorns that have a scaly bowl-like cap with striated brown & black bands. Acorns come in pairs or singly. Appears from September – November

(Image: Franklin Bonner, USFS (ret.)²⁰)

• Bark: Gray to dark gray to brown furrowed bark as it ages

(Image: Chris Light²¹)

• Acorns: Acorns, three quarters – to one inch, initially green but tan when ripe, brown and have a lumpy cap covering a quarter to a third of the nut
• Bark: Light, ashy gray, scaly bark that has a vertical block & scales

12. White Oak

• Leaves: Oval-rounded shape, the leaves change color to burgundy or a showy red in the fall, elliptic and green, with fingerlike or rounded lobes with no bristles, the leaves have entire margins, widest at the center, glaucous beneath, pinnately-lobed
• Flowers: Male flowers are pendulous, prominent, long , and yellowish-green. The chains are in clusters, the female flowers are produced on stalks, are reddish, and are a bit smaller & less showy

13. Turkey Oak

• Leaves: Three lobes resembling a turkey foot, they are alternate and simple with 3 – 7 bristle-tipped lobes. The leaves are shiny-green above & paler with a few red hairs on the midvein below. They are red to red-brown in Fall and may last into winter
• Flowers: Male flowers are in elongated and drooping clusters. Female flowers are short-stalked or sessile in the axils of the leaves. Blooms show in April
• Bark: Dark grey-black mature bark with deeply furrowed and irregular ridges, the inner bark is reddish in color

(Image: Rosser1954²²)

• Acorns: Brown & one inch long with thin cap that is reddish-brown and has fuzzy scales. It covers about a third of the nut. Fruits are produced from September to October

(Image: Bruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA²³)

• Acorns: Half to two thirds inches long, the acorn is round, dark-brown, and striated. The scaly cap is shallow but might cover up to a third of the acorn. The acorns mature in two years

14. Laurel Oak

• Leaves: Three to five inches long and one point five inch wide elliptic – oblong, leathery leaves. They are glossy green and have paler undersides. Margins are entire and have shallow lobes. The leaves persist into winter in warmer climates
• Flowers: Male catkins are yellow-green in color while female flowers appear in small reddish spikes
• Bark: Dark brown and smooth at the beginning. It develops shallow fissures with flat, rough ridges as it matures

15. Overcup Oak

• Leaves: Six to eight inches long, with shiny dark-green color & is wedge-shaped. The undersides are gray-green and have hairs. Margins have five to nine deeply rounded lobes. The varies in fall to yellow, brown or red⁷
• Flowers: Pollen flowers are in a drooping and elongated cluster. The male & female flowers are produced in separate catkins but on the same tree. In North Carolina, flowers bloom in March – April
• Bark: Gray and has deep furrows, scaly ridges or plates

(Image: Peter Chen 2.0²⁴)

• Acorns: They are produced annually and are oval-oblong in shape, five to one inch long with 1 to 2 acorns in each stalk. The cup contains grey pubescent scales & is on most of the nut. They produce seeds at around 25 to 30 years. In North Carolina, the fruits are seen from September – October