Quercus bicolor - Swamp White Oak (Fagaceae) ------Quercus bicolor is a large, rounded shade tree noted Twigs for its bicolored foliage in the breeze, ornamental -yellowish-brown in youth, turning to brown-gray bark and bold texture in winter, and adaptability to with maturity, usually stout wet or dry sites.

FEATURES Form Trunk -large shade tree -young trunks and branches are gray-brown and -maturing at about 60' tall x shredding to lightly exfoliating, but quickly mature to 60' wide under urban overlapping long vertical scales that flare outward conditions, but larger in the along one exposed side, on the upper trunk and the wild undersides of large limbs -upright oval growth habit in -mature lower trunks are either scaly, or heavily youth, becoming very rounded ridged and furrowed to slightly spreading with age -the prominently flared bark of this species (and -medium growth rate many other members of the White Oak group) contribute greatly to its overall bold texture in winter Culture -full sun to partial sun (partial shade tolerance in USAGE youth) Function -performs best in full sun in moist to wet, deep, -shade tree for large lawns, golf courses, parks, or acidic soils, but is very adaptable to dry soils, and is naturalized areas, including areas that are dry, wet, or somewhat adaptable to soils of alkaline pH normally dry areas that are occasionally flooded -propagated by seeds -valuable -no serious diseases or pests, although cosmetic timber tree, blemishes (such as galls) can be caused by insects with its wood -moderately available in B&B form prized for -member of the White Oak group; some of these beams, members may hybridize freely in the wild, resulting boards, in a blending of traits such as leaf shape and autumn railroad ties, color furniture, and -Swamp White Oak may show chlorosis of the especially foliage in highly alkaline soils, although it is more floors adaptable to these conditions than the Pin Oak Texture (Quercus palustris) -medium Foliage texture in foliage and bold texture when bare -alternate, dark green, slightly obovate, with variable -thick density in foliage and when bare leaf margins that range from shallowly sinuate with Assets either small rounded lobes or large crenate teeth, to -wet site or dry site adaptable moderately deep sinuses with prominent rounded -bold texture in winter lobes -nuts attract wildlife (large birds, deer, and especially -leaves are whitish- squirrels) green underneath, Liabilities resulting in a bicolor -autumn color is often poor effect in the breeze -fruit litter with maturity (and hence the Habitat specific epithet name) -Zones 3 to 8 -leaves have a fairly -Native to the Northeastern quadrant of the U.S. short petiole -autumn color is often a poor yellowish green to yellowish-brown, but occasionally reddish-purple, SELECTIONS golden, or golden-brown in excellent years Alternates Flowers -large rounded shade trees (Acer platanoides, -yellow-brown pendulous male catkins are obvious Fraxinus americana, Gleditsia triacanthos, and prominent in late Apr., but are ornamentally Styphnolobium japonicum, etc.) insignificant, as are the very small pistillate flowers -trees adaptable to both dry sites and wet sites (Celtis Fruits laevigata, Gleditsia triacanthos, Fraxinus -a moderate-sized acorn (1" long), pennsylvanica, Taxodium distichum, etc.) maturing in a single season, with a cap -wildlife attraction hardwood trees (members of the covering the upper one-third of the oval genera Fagus, Carpinus, Carya, Juglans, Nyssa, nut, on a very long but thin peduncle (1-4" Quercus, etc.) long), either single with an aborted Cultivars – Variants – Related species miniature acorn on the peduncle, or in pairs straight species is the available choice