Tree ID: Oak subspecies

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Cold Is Dumb

Cold Is Dumb

New Member
Jul 28, 2013
32
Annapolis Maryland
Howdy Folks

Long time lurker, first time poster. Full-fledged symptomatic wood-burning addict here...

I've processed lots of red oak, but this is something slightly different. The aren't the typical "oak shaped" pointy red oak leaves, and the wood isn't as dense as red oak I've worked in the past.

That said, it splits like red oak, and it smells like red oak. I have 3 trees here, averaging about 2 DBH each. The landowner calls his oaks either swamp oaks or chinkapin oaks. I don't agree with his assessment, maybe those are regional names. The internet leads me to chestnut oak. However, this property is definitely a swamp, and according to what I've found online, chestnut oaks aren't typical for swamps.

What say you, forum junkies?



leaf.JPGpile.jpgpile2.jpground.jpgsplit.jpg
 
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Looks to me like chest nut oak One of thee best ! awesome score.;)
 
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Yeah Scotty thats one of my favorites. They dont Nickname it Rock Oak for nothing,Like picking up ...well Big rocks;lol Oh and welcome to The hearth forum ,Great info and people here.
 
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JOHN BOY said:
Yeah Scotty thats one of my favorites. They dont Nickname it Rock Oak for nothing,Like picking up ...well Big rocks;lol Oh and welcome to The hearth forum ,Great info and people here.
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Where I deer hunt up on the mountain it seems that stuff literally grows right out of the boulders and rocks...and I'm talking some damm big trees too!

yep, one of my favorites also. Other than that 2" thick slab-like bark......takes up a lot of space in the stacks! But it's worth it!
 
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Cold Is Dumb said:
Howdy Folks

Long time lurker, first time poster. Full-fledged symptomatic wood-burning addict here...

I've processed lots of red oak, but this is something slightly different. The aren't the typical "oak shaped" pointy red oak leaves, and the wood isn't as dense as red oak I've worked in the past.

That said, it splits like red oak, and it smells like red oak. I have 3 trees here, averaging about 2 DBH each. The landowner calls his oaks either swamp oaks or chinkapin oaks. I don't agree with his assessment, maybe those are regional names. The internet leads me to chestnut oak. However, this property is definitely a swamp, and according to what I've found online, chestnut oaks aren't typical for swamps.

What say you, forum junkies?
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Welcome to the forum Mr Cold is Dumb.


For sure whenever you see an oak with the rounding rather than the pointed leaf, it is in the white oak family. You have some great stuff there.
 
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Scotty Overkill said:
Without a doubt, that is chestnut oak ( we call it rock oak up here in the PA hills). Subspecies of white oak. Burns great, smells even better both fresh and when burning......I love having that stuff.....
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We call it rock oak here in NY too ;) Welcome!!
 
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Look around on the ground and you find some of the colossal acorns.
 
Welcome! Nice Chestnut Oak score - Those maul "Flesh wounds==c" in the first pic say it all . One of the first big trees I cut and split was a Ch.oak. Wussed out and borrowed a splitter;lol
 
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Congrats on your chestnut/rock oak score!

I don't want to take this off topic, but I have a bunch of pin oak that actually came from a tree in my yard. Is that a decent oak to burn?
 
That is chestnut oak, not to be confused with swamp chestnut oak, which has bark like a typical white oak, and is more common to those areas one would think.
 
That appears to be in the White Oak group? "Wood is marketed as White Oak."
 
There is a tree called the Swamp Chestnut Oak - Quercus michauxii. It occurs in Maryland. I think that is what you have.
 
Swamp chestnut has flaky bark.
 
Howdy to you as well, neighbors! I'll look up all you Annapolis/Anne Arundel County folks when I get a score that's more than I can handle!

As far as the ID, I'm leaning towards Chestnut Oak as well (Mushroom Expert Link). Dead ringer on the leaves and bark.

The Swamp Chestnut Oak (VA Tech Link) has leaves that could put it in the running, but the bark doesn't match as well.

The Swamp White Oak (VA Tech Link) doesn't match as well on the leaves or bark either. I get hung up on the "Swamp" in the names of these species though, since the trees are located in one.

osagebow said:
Those maul "Flesh wounds==c" in the first pic say it all
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Lol indeed, the maul didn't like that particular piece. Turns out there's a branch nub inside that round. The trees are mostly straight-grained and easy to split by hand. I noodled a few of the nastier pieces, and went thru 2 chains in about and hour and a half.
 
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