Swamp White Oak - Tree Facts & PicturesS

Swamp White Oak Fact Sheet

Family: Fagaceae - Beech family
Latin name: Quercus bicolor
Common name: Swamp white oak

	Quercus bicolor, Swamp white oak, habit in winter, spring and summer. Pictures were taken on 2/12/2005 - 5/04/2005 - 5/10/2005 - 7/2/2005 Blossoming of leaves and flowers made a big change in the tree during the six days in May. Look at the photos in the 3rd row to see the growth that helped fill out this tree in just six days.

	Flowers of the Swamp white oak emerge with the leaves. Finding that I'd taken 2 pictures of this branch six days apart was an pleasant discovery, particularly since they were taken at a time when there was so much activity. To see a better comparison of these two stages of development, go to the comparison page and open the Quercus bicolor in both the left and right frame. Photos taken May 4th and May 10th 2005.

Catkins and leaves begin emerging in the middle of April. A few acorn caps remained on the tree during the winter.

Photo taken April 15.

All of the buds don't necessarily open at the same time. Leaves and flowers on this branch are more fully developed, than on the branch above left. even though the photos were taken on the same day. Swamp white oak is monoecious; male and female flowers appear on the same tree in May to June.

By early May, the leaves have become more fully developed and the male catkins seem past their prime.

Quercus bicolor leaves shape and color, sun shining through

The Quercus bicolor, gets its name from its two-toned leaves. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and shiny, the lower surface is white with fine hairs. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the under surface. The edge of the leaf is wavy with 5 - 10 shallow lobes on each side.

Quercus bicolor leaves on ground in winter

I don't have any photos of the fall color of the Swamp white oak, but this winter photo shows leaves on the ground. Now the colors are reddish brown and white, but they retain the "bicolor" appearance. This photo is not from the same tree as the rest of the photos on this page.

Quercus bicolor acorns on long, thin peduncle in midsummer

Quercus bicolor acorns cap covering more than half of fruit late summer

Quercus bicolor acorns cap covering less than half of fruit early fall

The fruit of the Swamp white oak is an acorn that matures in one year. There are generally two acorns at the end of a long "peduncle" (stalk). The photo above top left shows more than two acorns, but there are at least two peduncles together. The acorns are sweet and are eaten by squirrels, white-tailed deer, beaver, black bear, wood ducks and some non-game birds. By the time the acorns are mature, the cap covers less than 1/3 of the fruit. The acorns of the Quercus bicolor fall in September or October. the seeds aren't dormant and will begin to germinate soon after falling. Minimum seed bearing age is 20 years with optimum bearing age 75-200 years. Good crops occur every 3 - 5 years.

Quercus bicolor branch with peeling bark in winter

Quercus bicolor picture of bark on trunk of tree

The bark is furrowed and branches may be flaky. The Swamp white oak provides homes and cover for a variety of birds and mammals.

Additional photos and drawings (from USDA)

There are 133 tagged Swamp white oak trees listed in the Morton Arboretum Data Base.

Many of the pictures on this page are of a tree that is located in the "Central Area" of Morton Arboretum in the Midwest collection, it is just a few feet from Parking 2.

Morton Arboretum accession tag 463-84*4.

Arboretum grid location N-58/22-22

GPS location 41.81484, -088.06678

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 - 8

Kingdom:  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom:  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision:  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division:  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class:  Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass:  Hamamelidae

Order:  Fagales -

Family:  Fagaceae - Beech family

Genus:   Quercus L. - oak

Species:  Quercus bicolor Willd. - Swamp white oak

Source for classification list: USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Kingdom: Plantae -- Plants
	Subkingdom: Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
		Superdivision: Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
			Division: Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants
				Class: Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons
					Subclass: Hamamelidae
						Order: Fagales -
							Family: Fagaceae - Beech family
								Genus: Quercus L. - oak
									Species: Quercus bicolor Willd. - Swamp white oak