DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Quercus incana | Bluejack Oak 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Bluejack oak occurs on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from
southeastern Virginia south to central Florida; west to Louisiana and
eastern and central Texas; and north to southeastern Oklahoma and
southwestern Arkansas [22].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory


STATES : 
     AL  AR  FL  GA  LA  MS  NC  OK  SC  TX
     VA


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BITH  CAHA  CUIS


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K112  Southern mixed forest (seral stages)


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    70  Longleaf pine
    71  Longleaf pine - scrub oak
    72  Southern scrub oak
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
    84  Slash pine
    85  Slash pine - hardwood


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Bluejack oak typically occurs in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
communities [25,27,36,].  Bluejack oak and turkey oak (Quercus laevis)
grow to about half the height of the dominant longleaf pines,
maintaining a sparse middle canopy layer.  The herb layer is usually
dominated by wiregrass (Aristida stricta) [28].  There are three
distinguishable phases of the Florida sandhills (longleaf pine)
associations:  1) turkey oak (Quercus laevis), 2) bluejack oak or sand
post oak (Q. stellata var. margaretta), and 3) southern red oak (Quercus
falcata) [6,7,25,36].  In each of these associations, longleaf pine
occurs as scattered overstory individuals.  The turkey oak phase occurs
on the driest sites, with scattered bluejack oak and persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana).  The bluejack oak phase is more characteristic
of fine-textured, somewhat more fertile soils.  Live oaks (Quercus spp.)
are common in the overstory.  The herb layer is characterized by
wiregrass and pineywoods dropseed (Sporobolus junceus) [6].  In the
sandhills of the Big Thicket region of Texas, dominant oaks are bluejack
oak and post oak (Q. stellata); dominant pine species include longleaf
pine, shortleaf pine (P. echinata), and loblolly pine (P. taeda).  Pine
densities are low, herb cover is sparse, and there are many areas of
exposed sand [6].

In Texas, bluejack oak is found on the deep sands of Pineywoods, Gulf
prairies and marshes, and post oak savanna (Quercus stellata).  In post
oak savanna, associated tree species include blackjack oak (Quercus
marilandica), black hickory (Carya texana), mesquite (Prosopis spp.),
Texas live oak (Q. virginiana var. fusiformis), post oak, and sand post
oak.  Associated herb layer species include sand lovegrass (Eragrostis
trichodes) and threeawn (Aristida spp.).  In the northeast Pineywoods,
bluejack oak occurs in shortleaf pine-post oak-southern red oak and
longleaf pine-bluejack oak associations.  Flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida) is associated with bluejack oak on some sites [45].  Bluejack
oak shares dominance with blackjack oak and sand post oak on sites
downslope of the extremely dry ridge tops that are dominated by turkey
oak [6].

Bluejack oak is listed as a dominant, codominant, or indicator species in
the following publications:

Longleaf pine communities of the west Gulf Coastal Plain [4]
The vegetation of the Apalachicola National Forest: an ecological
  perspective [7] 
Natural communities of Florida's inland sand ridges [9] 
Landscape ecosystem classification for South Carolina [19] 
Forest vegetation of the Big Thicket, southeast Texas [23]
Eastern deciduous forest, Vol. 1 [41]

Related categories for Species: Quercus incana | Bluejack Oak