Scrub
Oak - Scrub, Bear or Turkey Oak - Quercus ilicifoliate
Native Shrubs ... in wildlife
landscaping
West Virginia Native Plant Society
West Virginia Nongame Wildlife Program
| |
Form: |
Shrub or small tree with a rough,
straggling appearance. |
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Bark: |
Smooth, brown, twigs with a star-shaped
pith. |
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Leaves: |
Deciduous, alternate, wedge-shaped base,
widest near tip, usually 5 lobes with bristle tips, downy
white beneath, turns russet brown in autumn and persist
through winter. |
| |
Fruit: |
Acorn less than 1/2 inch long with 1/2
or less enclosed in the saucer-shaped cup. |
West
Virginia Range:- Berkeley, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral,
Monroe, Morgan, Pendleton, Pocahontas, and Randolph.
- Natural Habitat:
- Dry hillsides and ridgetops.
- Wildlife Use:
- Many wildlife species feed on the acorns. Animals include
deer, bear, squirrel, chipmunks, etc. Birds include
turkey, grouse, quail, bluejays, and woodpeckers. Deer
will browse on the twigs and foliage. Scrub oak produces,
abundant and frequent crops of acorns and is very
valuable for wildlife plantings. It also provides
excellent year-round cover and good nest sites when grown
in small groups.
- Horticulture:
- Uses: Group plantings (masses), rock
gardens, or specimen..
Light: Full sunlight.
Soil Moisture: Dry.
Soil pH: Acid to mildly acid (optimum
4.5 to 6).
Problems: No serious insect or disease
problems known. Difficult to transplant seedlings (best
to plant acorns).
Compiled by: Emily K. Grafton, botanist,
naturalist and environmental educator, Morgantown, West Virginia
Written by West Virginia Native Plant Society
members and jointly published with the WV Nongame Program
Illustration from Flora of West Virginia,
Strausbaugh and Core
