Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: Texas red oak
Type: Tree
Family: Fagaceae
Native Range: South-central United States
Zone: 6 to 9
Height: 50.00 to 80.00 feet
Spread: 40.00 to 65.00 feet
Bloom Time: April
Bloom Description: Yellowish-green
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Shade Tree, Rain Garden
Flower: Insignificant
Leaf: Good Fall
Tolerate: Clay Soil, Wet Soil
Culture
Best grown in rich, moist, acidic loams in full sun. Adapts to a wide variety of soil conditions including heavy clay soils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Quercus texana is a deciduous oak that typically grows in wet, heavy, bottomland soils in floodplain forests in the Mississippi River valley from far western Kentucky, the southern tip of Illinois and the southeastern lowlands region of Missouri (the Bootheel) south to Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Texas. It grows 50-80’ tall with a wide-spreading, rounded crown. Insignificant yellowish-green flowers in separate male and female catkins appear in spring shortly after the leaves emerge. Fruits are oval acorns (to 1¼” long) with scaly cups. Dark green leaves (4-8” long) are deeply divided into 6-11 spiny, pointed lobes. Axillary tufts of tomentum on the lower surface vein angles are distinctive. Gereral leaf shape is reminiscent of the closely related pin oaks and schumard oaks. Fall color comes late, but often includes quality shades of red. Q. texana as currently described is synonymous with and formerly known as Q. nuttallii, Q. nuttallii var. cachensis, Q. rubra var. texana, Q. shumardii var. microcarpa and Q. shumardii var. texana. Unfortunately, nomenclature and common names for this tree have become considerably confused over time.
Genus name comes from the classical Latin name for oak trees.
Specific epithet means of Texas.
Problems
Potential diseases include oak wilt, anthracnose and oak leaf blister. Potential insects include scale, oak skeletonizer, leaf miner and lace bug.
Uses
Large shade tree. Needs a large space in which to grow. A good selection for low areas with wet soils.