Shumard Oak By: Bryan Rose

One of the largest red oaks known today ( ft. in height, 4- 5 ft. DBH) It has clear symmetrical bowl with an open and wide spreading crown. The bark is thick with deep splotchy white ridges and sometimes reflective on younger tress. Leaves are 3-8 inches long with 5-9 lobes and bristle tips. Fall color is red or brown Leaves have a variation in lobbing with the base possibly being uneven. Terminal bud is about ¼ in. long and are in clusters and sharp pointed. Glabrous with downy like hairs covering it and are a grayish brown color.

BARK FORM LEAF BUDS

-Shumard oak is very shade intolerant so often it can be found growing in openings of the forest. -It grows quite large on bottomland sites. -It is said that when shumard reaches maturity it will retard understory growth by allelopathic effect. This is when a plant produces certain biochemicals that effects the growth of organisms around them. -Prefers to grow in humid weather with hot summers and shorter winters. -Shumard oak also tolerates drought well.

Shumard bears seeds around the age of twenty five and has a gap of two to three years between crops. The acorns are multiply seeded which is an unusual trait. The seeds are spread by animals using the acorns as a source of food such as deer, squirrels, chipmunks and so on. They flower from March to April and their acorns usually ripen from September to October of their second year. The flowers are monoecious with the male catikins in long hanging clusters and light green. The females are paired or single with the leaves (hardly ever noticed). The acorns are single or paired also and ¾” to 1 ¼” long and their cap is scaly and does not cover much of the acorn.

Shumard oak is primarily found in the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Shumard oak is closed grained and strong but it is usually sold in with red oak. The acorns have been known to be ground up and used for flour and coffee. Used as an ornamental shade tree Other uses include Flooring Interior trim Furniture Paneling Cabinetry

This tree was named after Benjamin Franklin Shumard ( ) who was the state geologist for Texas. A shumard oak can be difficult to identify due to the fact that hybridize with other oak species. The largest shumard oak on record is in Overton park forest in Memphis, Tennessee. It is recorded at 190’ high, 88’ spread, and has a circumference of 249”. Other names include Shumard’s red oak Spotted oak Schneck oak Swamp red oak Texas oak Spanish oak

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