Everything about Blackjack Oak totally explained
Quercus marilandica (
Blackjack oak) is a small
oak, one of the
red oak group Quercus sect.
Lobatae, but fairly isolated from the others. It is native to the southern and central
United States, with populations following the eastern seaboard north to
Long Island.
It is a small
deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall, with bark cracked into rectangular black plates with narrow orange fissures. The
leaves are 7-20 cm long and broad, and typically flare from a tapered base to a broad three-lobed bell shape with only shallow indentations. They are dark green and glossy above, pubescent underneath, and often remain attached to the twigs through the winter after turning brown in the fall. The
acorn is small, 12-20 mm long and 10-18 mm broad; like other red oaks, it takes 18 months to mature.
The Blackjack oak grows in poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other woody plants can thrive, usually on low ground, from sea level up to 900 m altitude. It doesn't have the beautiful form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing in problem sites. It is sometimes an understory tree in pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern US. Along the coastal plain of
New Jersey the probability of finding this species is increased in relatively sunny, open areas such as those near coastal salt marshes. It often occurs near
Scarlet and
Post Oaks as well as
Pitch Pine; understory companions include
Winged Sumac,
Bracken,
Sweet Fern, and
Bayberry.
A variety,
Quercus marilandica Münchhausen var.
ashei Sudworth (D. M. Hunt 1989), grows in the western portions of its range—northern Texas, Oklahoma, and into southern Kansas. In this area, Blackjack, along with
Post oak, forms a semi-savanna area composed of forested strips intermixed with prairie grass glades along the eastern edge of the southern
Great Plains. This semi-savanna is known as the
Cross Timbers. Blackjacks in the Cross Timbers can grow from 50 to 60 feet (15-18 m) high with a trunk diameter of 16 inches (40 cm), but seldom reach more than 40 feet (12 m). The leaves are from 4 to 10 inches (10-25 cm) in length and about the same width. Blackjack acorns provide food for both whitetail deer and wild turkey. Blackjacks may, however, cause tannic acid poisoning in cattle.
Uses
The
wood is very dense, so much so that it'll rapidly dull chainsaws. The density of the wood causes a very hot flame when burnt, making Blackjack oak wood the preferred
fuel for slow-cooked (Carolina style)
pork barbecues and a good heat source for wood-burning stoves, but not desirable in wood fireplaces because the heat causes "popping", increasing the risk of external fires.
References and external links
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