North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Quercus michauxii

Quercus michauxii Nutt.

swamp chestnut oak, basket oak

Synonym(s): Quercus houstoniana, Quercus prinus

Image ID: 16603
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: QUMI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus michauxii
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-28

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: QUERC
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Quercus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Oak
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 350-530 species, trees and shrubs, of temperate, subtropical, and rarely tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Oaks are the predominant tree of our area, with a variety of species dominating much of the landscape in nearly every ecological situation. Only in a few specialized (and usually in some sense edaphically extreme) communities are oaks generally entirely absent: deepest Coastal Plain swamps, some Coastal Plain depression ponds, wettest pine savannas, pocosins, spruce-fir forests, highest elevation northern hardwood forests, and mountain bogs.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: Many oak species are well-adapted to ecological situations in which fires frequently burn the ground layer. Fire-maintained communities of the Piedmont and Mountains typically have oaks such as Q. stellata, Q. marilandica var. marilandica, Q. ilicifolia, and Q. prinoides. The two latter species are normally shrubby, and have become rarer because of fire suppression (they require fire to prevent larger trees from outcompeting them). In contrast, Q. stellata and Q. marilandica var. marilandica become larger and more frequent in fire-suppressed conditions.
GENUS REFERENCES: Nixon in FNA (1997) (overall treatment); Jensen in FNA (1997) (red oaks); Nixon & Muller in FNA (1997) (white oaks); Godfrey (1988); Stein, Binion, & Acciavatti (2003); Cronquist (1991); Duncan & Duncan (1988); Hunt (1990)=Z; Hunt (1994); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: FAGACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Fagaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1829
FAMILY COMMON: Beech Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 8 genera and 620-1050 species, trees and shrubs, mostly of the Northern Hemisphere, but extending into se. Asia and Australia.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Nixon in FNA (1997); Govaerts & Frodin (1998); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Elias (1971a).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT:

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Apr

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Oct (of the same year).

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
225	HORT	2011-03-24	MacIntyre	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
187	2007-0411	2019-07-08		View
226	2011-0054	2011-03-30	225	View
712	1985-0360			View
3756	1991-0451			View
4477	1992-0633			View
4804	1993-0096	2007-07-19		View
6265	1995-1397			View
8542	2006-0113	2006-06-02		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
364	187	166	NCBG staff	2007-07-01	View
469	226	110	NCBG staff	2011-03-24	View
1415	712	166	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1416	712	174	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6063	3756	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6805	4477	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7177	4804	1	NCBG staff	1991-01-01	View
8920	6265	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: QUMI
USDA Common Name: Swamp Chestnut Oak
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW				FACW	FACW		FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus michauxii
COMMON NAME: Basket Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, GW, K, Mo, RAB, Va, W, WH3; = Q. prinus Linnaeus - S, name rejected (possibly misapplied, and a source of confusion)]
PHENOLOGY: Apr; Sep-Oct (of the same year).
HABITAT: Bottomland forests, especially in fertile soils of upper terraces where flooded only infrequently and for short periods, upland depression ponds, sometimes on moist lower slopes.
COMMENTS: NJ south to n. peninsular FL and west to e. TX and se. OK, north in the interior to s. IL and s. IN. See discussion under Q. montana about the application of the name Q. prinus Linnaeus.
RANGE MAP: Quercus michauxii.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Fagaceae Dumortier 1829 (Beech Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 8 genera and 620-1050 species, trees and shrubs, mostly of the Northern Hemisphere, but extending into se. Asia and Australia.
REFERENCE: Nixon in FNA (1997); Govaerts & Frodin (1998); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Elias (1971a).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Quercus L. (Oak)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 350-530 species, trees and shrubs, of temperate, subtropical, and rarely tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Oaks are the predominant tree of our area, with a variety of species dominating much of the landscape in nearly every ecological situation. Only in a few specialized (and usually in some sense edaphically extreme) communities are oaks generally entirely absent: deepest Coastal Plain swamps, some Coastal Plain depression ponds, wettest pine savannas, pocosins, spruce-fir forests, highest elevation northern hardwood forests, and mountain bogs.
REFERENCE: Nixon in FNA (1997) (overall treatment); Jensen in FNA (1997) (red oaks); Nixon & Muller in FNA (1997) (white oaks); Godfrey (1988); Stein, Binion, & Acciavatti (2003); Cronquist (1991); Duncan & Duncan (1988); Hunt (1990)=Z; Hunt (1994); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Quercus michauxii in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Quercus michauxii in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Quercus michauxii in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Quercus michauxii in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Quercus michauxii in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Quercus michauxii

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 16603 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 16603 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 0 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)