Quercus marilandica

{{Short description|Species of oak tree}} {{Speciesbox | name = Blackjack oak | image = Blackjack and little bluestem.png | image_caption = Dormant blackjack in the Cross Timbers of Lincoln County, Oklahoma | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Wenzell, K. |author2=Kenny, L. |date=2015 |title=''Quercus marilandica'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T194195A2303635 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194195A2303635.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.133493/Quercus_marilandica | title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 }}</ref> | genus = Quercus | display_parents = 2 | parent = Quercus sect. Lobatae | species = marilandica | authority = Muenchh.<ref name=Muenchh /> | range_map = Quercus marilandica range map 1.png | range_map_caption = Generalized natural range of ''Quercus marilandica'' | synonyms_ref = <ref name=powo /><ref name=Tropicos /> | synonyms = * ''Quercus cuneata'' Wangenh. * ''Quercus dilatata'' Raf. * ''Quercus ferruginea'' F.Michx. * ''Quercus marilandica'' var. ''ashei'' Sudw. * ''Quercus neoashei'' Bush * ''Quercus nigra'' var. ''integrifolia'' Marshall * ''Quercus nigra'' var. ''marilandica'' L. * ''Quercus nigra'' var. ''quinqueloba'' A.DC. * ''Quercus nobilis'' Mast. }}

'''''Quercus marilandica''''', the '''blackjack oak''', is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States.

==Description== ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall, with bark cracked into rectangular black plates with narrow orange fissures. The leaves are {{convert|7|-|20|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=off|sp=us}} 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 colors from red to brown in the fall. The acorn is small, {{convert|12|-|20|mm|in|sp=us|frac=8}} long and {{convert|10|-|18|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} broad; like those of other red oaks, it takes 18 months to mature.<ref name=FNA>{{eFloras|1|233501060|Quercus marilandica |first=Kevin C. |last=Nixon |volume=3 |access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

Blackjack oaks in the Cross Timbers can grow from {{convert|50|to|60|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} high but seldom reach more than {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}, with a trunk diameter of {{convert|16|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}. The leaves are from {{convert|4|to|10|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}} in length and about the same width.

{{gallery|mode=packed |Image:Lewis County Blackjack Oak.JPG|Blackjack oak leaves |Image:Oak-Stump-9832.jpg|Blackjack oak stump, approx. 75 years old }}

== Distribution and habitat == The blackjack oak can be found from Long Island in New York to Florida, west as far as Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. There are reports of a few isolated populations in southern Michigan, but these appear to represent introductions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quercus marilandica Range Map |url=https://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/quermari.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716082915/http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/quermari.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011 |access-date=2008-03-05 |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref><ref>{{BONAP|genus=Quercus|species=marilandica|date=2014|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

The species 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 approximately {{convert|2800|ft|m|abbr=on|sp=us|order=flip}} in altitude. Some sources say that it does not have the beautiful form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing in problem sites.<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf/jof/1942/00000040/00000003/art00011?crawler=true | title = Blackjack Oak in the Missouri Ozarks | last = Liming | first = Franklin G. | journal = Journal of Forestry | volume = 40 | issue = 3 | date = 1 March 1942 | pages = 249–252 | publisher = Society of American Foresters}}</ref> Some say that the tree is "tough but ugly", but also underappreciated.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/blackjack-oak.aspx | title = Plant of the Week: Blackjack Oak | first = Gerald | last = Klingaman | date = September 22, 2000 | work = Extension News | publisher = University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture | access-date = 31 October 2017 | archive-date = 2 September 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210902220101/https://www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/blackjack-oak.aspx }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/home-garden/2017/01/12/blackjack-oak-grows-hardscrabble-habitat/96497394/ | title = Blackjack oak grows in hardscrabble habitat | first = John | last = Nelson | date = 12 January 2017 | work = Tallahassee Democrat | location = Tallahassee, Florida | access-date = 31 October 2017}}</ref> At times the tree has even been actively eradicated to provide room for trees deemed to be more commercially valuable.<ref>{{citation | url = https://archive.org/details/sproutingofblack137clar | title = Sprouting of Blackjack Oak in the Missouri Ozarks, Technical Paper No. 137 | first1 = F. Bryan | last1 = Clark | first2 = Franklin G. | last2 = Liming | date = December 1953 | publisher = Division of Forest Management, Central States Forest Experiment Station}}</ref>

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, sweetfern, and bayberry, and can be found as far north as parts of Ohio<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/oak_blackjack/oak_blackjack.html | title = Blackjack Oak | work = What Tree Is It? | date = 1997 | publisher = Ohio Public Library Information Network and The Ohio Historical Society | access-date = 2017-01-17 | archive-date = 2019-04-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404014836/http://oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/oak_blackjack/oak_blackjack.html }}</ref> and New York.

A variety, ''Quercus marilandica'' Münchhausen var. ''ashei'' Sudworth,<ref name=FNA /> grows in the western portions of its range – northern Texas, Oklahoma, and into southern Kansas. In this area, blackjack and post oak form 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.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://biosurvey.ou.edu/conservation-biology/cross-timber-conservation/ | title = Ancient Cross Timbers | author = Oklahoma Biological Survey | year = 2016 | publisher = University of Oklahoma | access-date = 31 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.forestry.ok.gov/post-oak-blackjack-forest | title = Oklahoma's Forests > Oklahoma's Major Forest Types > Post Oak-Blackjack Forest | author = Oklahoma Forestry Services | publisher = Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry | access-date = 31 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://texnat.tamu.edu/library/symposia/brush-sculptors-innovations-for-tailoring-brushy-rangelands-to-enhance-wildlife-habitat-and-recreational-value/oak-ecology/ | title = Oak ecology | first = David M. | last = Engle | publisher = Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State University | location = Stillwater, Oklahoma | date = 18 March 1997 | access-date = 31 October 2017}}</ref> Scrub forms of ''Q. marilandica'' dominate on many chert glades along with ''Q. stellata'' in Arkansas's Ozark plateau.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | first = C. Michael | last = Hogan | date = 26 November 2012 | url = http://www.eoearth.org/article/Oak | title = Oak | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Earth | editor-first = A. | editor-last = Dawson | editor2-first = C.J. | editor2-last = Cleveland | publisher = National Council for Science and the Environment | location = Washington DC | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523173442/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Oak | archive-date=May 23, 2013 }}</ref>

== Ecology == Blackjack oak sometimes hybridizes with bear oak (''Q. ilicifolia''), forming a hybrid known as ''Q.'' × ''brittonii''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Quercus marilandica – Blackjack Oak |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Life |publisher=Biodiversity Heritage Library |url=http://eol.org/pages/1151451/details |access-date=31 October 2017 |last=Shapiro |first=Leo |date=28 September 2012}}</ref>

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 and produces a hot flame when burned, which functions as an excellent source of heat for barbecues and wood-burning stoves. However, the wood is not desirable for wood fireplaces because the heat causes popping, thereby increasing the risk of house fires.<ref>{{cite book | editor-first = Stephan L. | editor-last = Hatch | editor2-first = Jennifer | editor2-last = Pluhar | title = Texas Range Plants | location = College Station, Texas | publisher = Texas A&M University Press | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-89096-538-2}}</ref>

Traditionally blackjack wood is used as both a fuel and smoke wood for barbecue in Oklahoma.

==References== {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=powo>{{Cite POWO |id=284111-2 |title=Quercus marilandica (L.) Münchh |access-date=14 July 2025}}</ref>

<ref name=Tropicos>{{Tropicos|13100099|Quercus marilandica|Münchh |access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

<ref name=Muenchh>{{cite book |last=Münchhausen |first=Otto von |date=1770 |chapter=Verzeichniß der Bäume und Stauden, welche in Deutschland fortkommen  |title=Der Hausvater |chapter-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/13511 |volume=5 |place=Hannover |publisher=Försters und Sohns Erben |pages=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47446300 253] |postscript=: diagnosis in Latin, description in German in Teutonic script.}}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Quercus marilandica|position=left}}

marilandica Category:Endemic flora of the United States Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Plants described in 1770 Category:Taxa named by Otto von Münchhausen