Quercus ilicifolia (Bear oak)

Quercus ilicifolia Wangenh.

Bear oak, black scrub oak, scrub oak, turkey oak

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fagales	Birch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others
Family	Fagaceae	Beech familhy
Genus	Quercus	Latin for “oak”
Species	ilicifolia	“Having leaves like a holly (genus Ilex)”

About plant names...

Bear oaks are natives of eastern North America.

Identification: These oaks are generally found as shrubs less than 15' (4.6 m) high, with a maximum height of 18' (5.5 m). The leaves look significantly different from those of most other oaks that occur in the same range. They are 2-5" (5-12 cm) long. Acorns are ¼-½" (8.4-12 mm) long, dark brown, with the cap covering about a third of the nut. See the Quercus comparison table.

Online References:

Quercus ilicifolia on www.carolinanature.com

Quercus ilicifolia on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Quercus ilicifolia at the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Quercus ilicifolia on PlantSystematics.org

Quercus ilicifolia at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Quercus ilicifolia on eFloras

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 192

8/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 3½" (14 × 9.4 cm)

Young acorns. · 6/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 4" (10 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

8/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 2½ × 2½" (6.6 × 6.5 cm)

Quercus ilicifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 22 Aug 2020.

6/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

5/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

8/8/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 14" (23 × 35 cm)

9/5/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.5 cm)

5/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

6/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

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