BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Quercus bicolor | Swamp White Oak 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Swamp white oak is a native deciduous tree that reaches heights of 50 to
70 feet (15-20 m) and diameters of 2 to 3 feet (0.6-1 m) [31].  It has a
limby bole and an open, irregularly shaped crown.  Its bark is flakey
and grey.  Its leaves resemble those of chestnut (Castanea spp.); they
are shallowly lobed with serrate margins [22].  The fruit is an acorn
0.75 to 1.25 inches (2-3 cm) long.  A mossy-like fringed cup covers from
one-third to one-half of the acorn [10].  Acorns are one seeded (rarely
two) and form singly or in clusters [25].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte: Mesophanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual:  Swamp white oak reproduces by seed, which mature in 1 year
[31].  Good seed crops are produced every 4 to 7 years, but many acorns
are infested by insects [33].  Acorns must be collected shortly afer
falling to prevent early germination.  Viability can be tested by
dumping acorns into water.  Those that float are not viable.  Acorns
cannot be stored for more than a few months.  Cleaned seed averages 120
per pound (108/kg).  One hundred pounds of fruit will average between 60
and 75 pounds (54-67.5/kg) of seed [25].  Seedlings grow slowly at less
than 6 inches (15 cm) per year [33].

Vegetative:  Swamp white oak can sprout from its trunk [33].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Swamp white oak occurs in river bottomlands, depressions, along
streamsides, swamp borders, and on moist peaty flats [10,20].  It is a
minor component in tamarack (Larix laricina) swamps of southwestern
Michigan [16].  Along the Ohio shores of Lake Erie, swamp white oak
grows in Toledo soil, a very poorly drained, silty clay.  It also grows
on Nappanee soils, which are somewhat poorly drained silt loams [13].
Along the Kankakee River on the Illinois and Indiana border, swamp white
oak is a major overstory component of the floodplain forest.  Here the
soils are highly permeable, frequently flooded sandy loams [21].  In
Quebec, swamp white oak occurs on sandy and loamy sand alluvium between
68 and 87 feet (22.6 and 28.9 m) in elevation [30].

Plant associates include pin oak (Quercus palustris), northern red oak
(Q. rubra), hickory (Carya spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), sweetgum
(Liquidambar styraciflua), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), red
maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (A. saccharinum), green ash (Fraxinus
pennsylvanicum), tamarack, dogwood (Cornus spp.), sumac (Rhus spp.),
serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), grape (Vitis spp.), holly (Ilex spp.),
and viburnum (Viburnum spp.) [3,5,9,12,30].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Swamp white oak is intermediate in shade tolerance but not very drought
tolerant [20].  It is a dominant tree in wetlands on infertile to
fertile soils of oak ecosystems in southeastern Michigan [2].  Without
disturbance elm (Ulmus americana)-ash (Fraxinus spp.)-cottonwood
(Populus spp.) types will convert to oak-dominated types that include
swamp white oak [23].  White oak (Quercus alba) forests of southern Ohio
(of which swamp white oak is a component) will progress towards hickory
and beech forests if undisturbed [5].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Swamp white oak acorns ripen from August through December [25].

Related categories for Species: Quercus bicolor | Swamp White Oak