{{Short description|Species of oak tree}} {{Redirect|Post Oak}} {{Speciesbox | name = Post oak | image = Houston campsite oak.jpg | image_caption = The Houston Campsite oak in Grapevine Springs Preserve, Coppell, Texas | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Kenny, L. |author2=Wenzell, K. |date=2015 |title=''Quercus stellata'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T194236A2305500 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194236A2305500.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Quercus | display_parents = 2 | parent = Quercus sect. Quercus | species = stellata | authority = Wangenh. | range_map = Quercus stellata range map 1.png | range_map_caption = Natural range of ''Quercus stellata'' | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{ThePlantList |id=kew-175243 |taxon=Quercus stellata}}</ref> | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |''Quercus alba'' var. ''minor'' <small>Marshall</small> |''Quercus floridana'' <small>Shuttlew. ex A.DC.</small> |''Quercus fusca'' <small>Raf.</small> |''Quercus gonoloba'' <small>Raf.</small> |''Quercus heteroloba'' <small>Raf.</small> |''Quercus lobulata'' <small>Sol. ex Sm.</small> |''Quercus minor'' <small>(Marshall) Sarg.</small> |''Quercus obtusiloba'' <small>Michx.</small> |''Quercus villosa'' <small>Walter</small> }} }}

'''''Quercus stellata''''', the '''post oak'''<ref name="Kirkman">{{cite book|first1=L. Katherine |last1=Kirkman |first2=Claud L. |last2=Brown |first3=Donald J. |last3=Leopold |entry=''Quercus stellata'' Wangenheim |title= Native Trees of the Southeast |date=2007 |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, OR |pages=194-95 |isbn=978-0-88192-828-0}}</ref> or '''iron oak''', is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges, and also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to rot, fire, and drought. Interbreeding occurs among white oaks, thus many hybrid species combinations occur. It is identifiable by the rounded cross-like shape formed by the leaf lobes and hairy underside of the leaves.

== Taxonomy == The specific epithet ''stellata'' is Latin for "star";<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahoney |first=Kevin D. |title=Latin Definition for: stellatus, stellata, stellatum (ID: 35675) - Latin Dictionary and Grammar Resources - Latdict |url=http://latin-dictionary.net/definition/35675/stellatus-stellata-stellatum |access-date=2016-11-16 |website=latin-dictionary.net}}</ref> it is named this because the trichome hairs on the bottom of the leaves are stellate<ref name="tanny" /> or star-shaped. Several variants of ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' were named by American botanist Charles Sprague Sargent. The variety most recognised by the United States Forest Service is ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' var. ''paludosa'' Sarg (delta post oak).<ref name=":0">Stransky, John J. "Quercus stellata Wangenh.--post oak." [https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654_vol2.pdf ''Silvics of North America'' 2] (1990): 738–743.</ref>

=== Varieties === Varieties include:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tropicos - quercus stellata Search |url=http://www.tropicos.org/namesearch.aspx?name=quercus+stellata |access-date=2016-11-10 |website=www.tropicos.org}}</ref> * var. ''margarettiae'' (Ashe) Sarg. * var. ''paludosa'' Sarg. * var. ''boyntonii'' (Beadle) Sarg. * var. ''anomala'' Sarg. * var. ''attenuata'' Sarg. * var. ''araniosa'' Sarg. * var. ''palmeri'' Sarg. * var. ''parviloba'' Sarg. * var. ''rufescens'' Sarg.

=== Hybrids === {| class="wikitable" |+ Hybrids<ref name="tanny" /> !Hybrid Name !''Q''. ''stellata'' x <''sp''.> |- |''Q''. × ''stelloides'' E. J. Palmer |''Q . prinoides'' |- |''Q''. × ''mahloni'' E. J. Palmer |''Q . sinuata'' var. ''breviloba'' |- |''Q''. × ''pseudomargaretta'' Trelease |''Q . margaretta'' |- |''Q''. × ''sterretti'' Trelease |''Q . lyrata'' |- |''Q''. × ''macnabiana'' Sudworth |''Q . sinuata'' |- |''Q''. × ''guadalupensis'' Sargent |''Q . macrocarpa'' |- |''Q'' . × ''fernowi'' Trelease |''Q . alba'' |- |''Q.'' × ''bernardensis'' W. Wolf |Q . ''montana'' |}

== Description == thumb|1812 illustration<ref>illustration from Histoire des arbres forestiers de l'Amérique septentrionale, considérés principalement sous les rapports de leur usages dans les arts et de leur introduction dans le commerce ... Par F.s André-Michaux. Paris, L. Haussmann,1812-13. François André Michaux (book author), Pierre-Joseph Redouté (illustrator), Renard (engraver)</ref>

Post oak is a relatively small tree, typically {{convert|10–15|m|abbr=off}} tall and trunk {{convert|30–60|cm|abbr=off}} in diameter, though occasional specimens reach {{cvt|30|m}} tall and {{cvt|140|cm}} in diameter. The leaves have a very distinctive shape, with three perpendicular terminal lobes, shaped much like a Maltese cross. They are leathery, and tomentose (densely short-hairy) beneath. The branching pattern of this tree often gives it a rugged appearance. The acorns are {{cvt|1.5–2|cm|frac=8}} long, and are mature in their first summer.<ref name="tanny">{{eFloras|1|233501087|Quercus stellata |family=Fagaceae |first=Kevin C. |last=Nixon}}</ref>

=== Similar species === Both ''Quercus stellata'' and ''Q. alba'' are in a section of ''Quercus'' called the white oaks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nixon |first=KC |date=1993-01-01 |title=Infrageneric classification of Quercus (Fagaceae) and typification of sectional names |url=http://www.afs-journal.org/articles/forest/pdf/1993/07/AFS_0003-4312_1993_50_Suppl1_ART0001.pdf |journal=Annales des Sciences Forestières |language=en |volume=50 |issue=Supplement |pages=25s–34s |doi=10.1051/forest:19930701 |issn=0003-4312 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the white oak section, ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' is a sister taxon with ''Q.&nbsp;alba''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Whittemore |first1=A. T. |last2=Schaal |first2=B. A. |date=1991-03-15 |title=Interspecific gene flow in sympatric oaks. |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=88 |issue=6 |pages=2540–2544 |bibcode=1991PNAS...88.2540W |doi=10.1073/pnas.88.6.2540 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=51268 |pmid=11607170 |doi-access=free}}</ref> ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' is sold and distributed as white oak. One identifiable difference between the two trees is that ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' is 'hairy' on the underside of the leaf.<ref name=":1">Stein, John D., Denise Binion, and R. E. Acciavatti. "[http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps50943/fieldguide.pdf Field guide to native oak species of eastern North America.]" (2003): 96-97.</ref>

== Distribution and habitat == ''Q. stellata'' is found in the eastern and Midwestern United States both inland and along the coast, then in a narrow range along the eastern coast from Massachusetts to Florida, then westward to Texas, and inland to Iowa. Normally found at the edge of a forest, it typically grows in dry, sandy areas, deficient of nutrients.<ref name=":1" />

== Ecology == ''Q. stellata'' has the ability to survive fires by having thicker bark. It is useful for fire surveys where the tree rings are used to get a fire history of an area. A tree ring survey of 36 trees in Illinois provided a 226-year tree ring record that indicated that many ''Q.&nbsp;stellata'' persisted through annual fire return intervals of 1.44 fires/year for over 100 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McClain |first1=William E. |last2=Esker |first2=Terry L. |last3=Edgin |first3=Bob R. |last4=Spyreas |first4=Greg |last5=Ebinger |first5=John E. |date=2010-12-01 |title=Fire History of a Post Oak (Quercus stellata Wang.) Woodland in Hamilton County, Illinois |journal=Castanea |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=461–474 |doi=10.2179/09-007.1 |issn=0008-7475 |id={{ProQuest|854839641}} |s2cid=86503496}}</ref>

It is used for food for deer, turkeys, squirrels, and other rodents, but because the nuts contain tannin, it is toxic to cattle.<ref name=":0" /> A recent study in Kansas concluded that deer browsing reduces post-oak recruitment in canopy gaps generally in the sapling phase.<ref>Cory, B. J., & Leland Russell, F. (2022). Deer browsing and light availability limit post oak (Quercus stellata) sapling growth and post-fire recovery in a xeric woodland. Forest Ecology and Management, 519, 120346-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120346</ref>

== Uses == Because of its ability to grow in dry sites, attractive crown, and strong horizontal branches, it is used in urban forestry. It is resistant to decay, so it is used for railroad ties, siding, planks, construction timbers, stair risers and treads, flooring, pulp, veneer, particle board, fuel, and its namesake fence posts.<ref name=":0" /> It is one of the most common types of wood used for Central Texas barbecue.{{Cn|date=October 2025}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|position=left|Quercus stellata}}

== External links == * [http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do;jsessionid=7794FF32600D87DD3CD5DED3B15B49BB?id=216416-2&back_page=%2Fipni%2FeditSimplePlantNameSearch.do%3Bjsessionid%3D7794FF32600D87DD3CD5DED3B15B49BB%3Ffind_wholeName%3DQuercus%2Bstellata%2B%26output_format%3Dnormal IPNI] * [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-175243 Kew] * [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233501087 Flora of North America] * [http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=QUST Plants.USDA.gov] * [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/queste/all.html#INTRODUCTORY US Forest Service] * [http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006082209/http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm |date=2018-10-06 }} * [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/qust.htm ''Q. stellata'' images from Vanderbilt University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617203551/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/qust.htm |date=2013-06-17 }} * [http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=100310354 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1939]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2600501}}

stellata Category:Endemic flora of the United States Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States Category:Flora of the United States Category:Plants described in 1787