Blackjack Oak Wood Grain

Black Oak vs Red Oak

• Blackjack Oak Wood Grain Pic
• Blackjack Oak Lumber
• Blackjack Oak Firewood

Simple, alternate, 4' to 10' long and 3' to 5' wide, strongly obovate, usually with three main bristle-tipped lobes on the upper half of the leaf, the bottom half narrowing abruptly to the petiole. Leaves are leathery, dark green and glossy on top, lighter and tawny-pubescent below. A friend had a 60’ blackjack oak get blown over. We burn wood so he give it to us. I have got it cut back to the main trunk and these rounds are starting at 26-27” and will be about 36-40 At the end. I am cutting them at 14-16” thick but they are so heavy, it takes A 60” peavey to move them Around.

Blackjack Oak Wood Grain Pic

Black oak and Red oak are two out of the hundreds kinds of species of oak tree. These two oaks are commonly used as a timber or wood in a lumber store for used in commercial purposes because of its sturdiness and cohesiveness.

Black Oak

Black oak (Quercus velutina) or Eastern Black oak is a rather a small oak tree compared to other oaks with a height only up to 25 meters and 0.9 meters in its diameter. In younger black oak trees, the barks is uniform and the color is gray, but when it matures the color would turn to black and getting thicker and has some wrinkles on it.

Red Oak

Red oak (Quercus rubra) is a little bit taller having a height that reaches 43 meters and the diameter of the trunk is about 0.5-1 meter. The red oaks grow rapidly that it can reach around 5-6 meters already on its 10th year. You would distinguish the red oak from others by its shiny barks that has some stripes down to the trunk.

Difference between Black Oak and Red Oak

Black oaks when compared to the red oaks are relatively small. While black oaks can reach its maximum height at about 82 feet, the red oaks on the other hand reaches up to 141 feet. In terms of barks, the color of the black oak tree is from red-orange to brown whereas the color of the bark of red oaks is light gray. The wood of a red oak tree is very valuable since it is used mainly for building constructions, cabinets, and other furniture. Compared to the red oak, black oak is used generally in floors.

Blackjack Oak Lumber

These two kinds of oaks are very good materials for constructing a house. They are both durable, strong, and would last for many years. In addition, the black and red oaks are somewhat immune to wood-eating insects like termites because of tannin content in these trees.

Blackjack Oak Firewood

In brief: • The color of the bark of black oak is red-orange to brown while the color of that of red oaks is light gray • Red oak timbers are suitable in making cabinets whereas the black oak is suitable for floorings • Red oak can reach as high as 141 feet and black oaks can reach up to 82 feet only.

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The blackjack oak, Quercus marilandica, is a tree in the red oak grouping of oaks. It was first described and named in 1704 in the colony of Maryland. The scientific name created for it in latin means “from Maryland”. The common name of the blackjack oak could not only be a reference to the tree’s almost black bark, but to the tree’s tough features that allow it to “beat out” other trees in survival. The blackjack is known as the symbol on the flag of pirates. It is also the short, leather-covered club that was once commonly used by peace officers and night watchmen. There can be much significance in a tree’s name.

An interesting encounter with this tree by early settlers helps illustrate how tough this oak was. The Cross Timbers region of Texas and Oklahoma is a transition zone from humid eastern woodland forests to drier western prairie grassland. In this region and in this period, frequent prairie fires encouraged the formation of an almost impenetrable barrier of dense undergrowth, with scrubby but occasionally large blackjack oaks and post oaks. These oaks were seldom more than 40 feet tall, but could be found 50 to 60 feet tall. Washington Irving described his 1835 passage through this area in his A Tour on the Prairies as “…like struggling through forests of cast iron.” The tough nature of this native tree has helped it grow where other trees can’t.

Blackjack oaks have been documented to live as long as 230 years. Slow- to medium-growing, they grow best in sunny locations. They like well-drained, acidic sites with rich soil. However, they adapt readily and grow most commonly in poor conditions with dry, acidic, sandy or rocky soil. Tolerant of fires, if top-killed they sprout vigorously from root sprouts. Trees from these root sprouts can make viable acorns in as little as 4 years. Perhaps the blackjack oak’s greatest threat to survival is man, as these trees are often replaced with faster growing trees that are considered more useful.

The champion blackjack oak in Atlanta is listed as measuring 67.5 feet in height, 75 inches in circumference, and 57 feet in spread. There are several near my neighborhood and one is perhaps 40 feet tall. This oak’s short, stout and often contorted branches form a narrow, compact, round-topped or open head. Twigs are stout, stiff, and grayish-brown. They are hairy at first but become smooth later. Buds are also hairy and reddish-brown, narrowly cone-shaped and pointed. The bark is almost black, and deeply divided into small square or rectangular plates that feel rough.

Leaves on the blackjack oak measure 4 to 8 inches long and wide, and are widest toward the tip. All varieties of blackjack oak have leaves that are simple, leathery, and have 3 (rarely 5) broad lobes that are very shallowly incised. The lobes have bristle tips where veins end at the edge, but the bristles may wear off. The upper leaf surface is dark- or yellowish-green and shiny, and the lower surface is pale yellow-brown or yellow-green, with brown hairs along the veins. Petioles are attached alternately on twigs, and may be ¼ to 1 ½ inches long. They are medium thick, stiff, and pubescent with tiny brown hairs. Foliage in autumn is yellow-brown with splashes of red, and persists through winter.

Male and female catkins found on the blackjack oak are yellow-green and 4 to 5 inches long. Pollination occurs in April and May by the wind. Acorns produced are about ¾ inches long, ovoid, and have a stout point at the tip. They are light yellow-brown, faintly striated, and have a thick, red-brown cap that covers 1/3 to 2/3 of it. The cap has loose, hairy scales and no fringe cover. Acorns mature in September-October of the second year, typical of oaks in the red oak family.

The blackjack grows slowly, and is considered scrubby and unattractive for use as a specimen or ornamental. It is usually considered too small to mill for lumber. Due to the wood’s twisted grain, it is difficult to split. However, it produces a hot flame and hot coals, and is considered excellent to use in wood burning stoves, for smoking meat, and in making charcoal. The wood spits when burning, and is not recommended for fireplaces. This is because the wood’s vessels are blocked by tyloses, unusual for wood in the red oak group. This characteristic also makes the wood resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and because the wood is also hard, heavy, strong and brittle, it is excellent for use as fence posts. Native Americans reportedly used the bark to treat dysentery. Acorns are an important food for deer, birds, and other animals.

Though the blackjack oak has little commercial value, it deserves credit for its ability to grow in places where few other trees can compete. It has a respectable history doing this, and it helps sustain important eco systems. The tree’s native range is through the southeastern and central United States, from Long Island in New York to Florida, and westward to east Texas and Oklahoma. As this tree and similar ones are replaced with faster-growing and more commercially useful trees, the profits earned will be our loss.