North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Quercus shumardii

Quercus shumardii Buckley

shumard oak, shumard’s oak

Image ID: 16630
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: QUSH
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus shumardii
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2020-01-01

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: Shrub, 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				x	x

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

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern 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 ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
717	1985-0366			View
3757	1991-0452			View
4478	1992-0634			View
5178	1995-0297			View
5653	1995-0777			View
6270	1995-1402			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1422	717	172	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6064	3757	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6806	4478	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7627	5178	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8167	5653	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8925	6270	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: QUSH
USDA Common Name: Shumard's Oak
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC	FAC		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 shumardii
COMMON NAME: Shumard Oak
SYNONYMY: [= C, FNA, K2, Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, WH3; > Q. shumardii var. shumardii - F, G, K1, WV; > Q. shumardii var. schneckii (Britton) Sargent - F, G, K1, WV]
PHENOLOGY: Apr; Sep-Oct (of the second year).
HABITAT: Moist and fertile soils of bottomlands and lower slopes, also in xeric sites over calcareous rocks (such as limestone).
COMMENTS: Sc. PA, OH, s. MI, IN, s. IL, MO, and e. KS south to n. peninsular FL and TX. A number of varieties have been recognized in Q. shumardii, and the morphological and habitat variation needs additional study. Var. schneckii (Britton) Sargent is apparently distributed in calcareous uplands west of the Blue Ridge, especially on dry limestone slopes. It is allegedly distinguished by the acorn cups rounded to turbinate below (vs. flattened and saucer-shaped in var. shumardii). Hess & Stoynoff (1998) tentatively concluded that no varieties should be recognized within Q. shumardii. Q. acerifolia (E.J. Palmer) Stoynoff & W.J. Hess (Q. shumardii var. acerifolia E.J. Palmer] is an endemic of Magazine Mountain in n. AR and scattered sites in OK; it is best treated as a distinct species, though there has been much debate about its taxonomic status, with opinions ranging from full species to mere form (Smith 1988, Stoynoff & Hess 1990, Johnson 1992, Johnson 1994, Hess & Stoynoff 1998).
RANGE MAP: Quercus shumardii.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 shumardii in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Quercus shumardii in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

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

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 16630 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 16630 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 16633 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 0 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)