While visiting southern Illinois, I went on a short hike to see one of the most highly valued Red Oaks in the southern United States. Its leaf structure is unusual in that the lobes are not necessarily paired on opposite sides of the leaf, instead they appear alternate or sometimes haphazard in arrangement.
Cherrybark Oaks often attain heights of 100 to 130 feet and trunk diameters of 36 to 60 inches, making it among the largest of the red oaks in the South. The name “Cherrybark” comes from its similarity to the bark of Black Cherry. The bark is gray and has scaly, narrow ridges.
With the Latin Name of Quercus pagoda, this species is characterized by leaves with pointed, bristle-tipped lobes and acorns that take two years to mature. The name “pagoda” refers to the pagoda-like shape of its leaves when viewed from above.
This tree grows mostly in humid, temperate climate characterized by hot Summers and mild Winters where surface soil pH is acid to medium acid. It is a lowland tree, but is seldom numerous on wet or swampy soils. In natural stands, dissemination of acorns by gravity is important on steep slopes. The hoarding habit of squirrels is also significant in acorn dispersal.
Wildlife consumes the acorns of the Cherrybark Oak. Mammals and birds that include acorns as a substantial part (10 percent or more) of their diets are the Gray Squirrel, Wild Turkey, and Blue Jay, followed by the Wood Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Redheaded Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Common Grackle, Raccoon, White-tailed Deer, and Eastern Fox Squirrel.