Nuttall oak is a decidous tree in the Fagaceae (oak) family. It is native to wet, heavy, bottomland soils in floodplain forests along the gulf coasts and up the Mississippi river basin. Nuttall oak is a beautiful, large, shade tree and provides rich, red-orange fall color. It grows up to 80 feet tall with a 50-60' spread forming a large, stately tree with a narrow, rather open, rounded canopy that is somewhat reminiscent of Red Oak. Well adapted to a wide range of soil types, it does well in low moist areas but is also drought tolerant once established. The crown spreads with age becoming round at maturity. The 4-8" long deciduous leaves are deeply-lobed (more so that Quercus rubra ) and have bristles on the tips of some lobes. A lovely dark green during most of the year, this plant puts on a vivid display of brilliant red to red-orange fall and winter foliage, providing a dramatic landscape statement. Fall and winter coloration varies from year to year in USDA hardiness zones 8 and 9. During the winter the bare tree provides interesting branching patterns. This large shade tree is highly adaptable to urban conditions and does well as a street tree. The acorns mature over 2 seasons and attract birds and small mammals and the tree is a larval host plant for many moths and butterflies making it an excellent choice for a specimen or shade tree in a wildlife garden. It is a host plant for the larvae of the Imperial moth ( Eacles imperialis ) , as well as numerous butterflies, including Banded hairstreak ( Satyrium calanus ) , Edward's hairstreak ( Satyrium edwardsii ) , Gray hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ) , White-m hairstreak ( Parrhasius malbum ) , Horace's duskywing ( Erynnis horatius ) , and Juvenalis duskywing ( Erynnis juvenalis ) . Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious pests or diseases.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Wet
Available space
24-60 feet; more than 60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 80 ft. 0 in. | Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Rounded
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
4 to 9 in. alternate, simple leaves with 5 to 9 deeply cut lobes. Undersides are paler with hair tufts in the axils. It has reddish-purple new growth which turns dark green in summer. Fall color is reddish-orange and leaves fall clean.
Fall color
Orange; Red/Burgundy
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower form
Catkin; Insignificant
Flower detail
Male flowers are borne in clustered, yellowish-green catkins.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Nut
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
3/4 - 1-inch oval acorns with a shallow thin scaly brown cap covering 1/2- 1/3 of the nut. Matures in 2 years.
Bark color
Black; Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Bark detail
The bark at first is grey-brown and smooth. Turns black with flat ridges with age.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Gray/Silver
Stem detail
Twigs are brown to grey and hairless. The buds are grey-brown, ovoid, slightly pubescent with ciliate scales.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Central southern US
Distribution
AL, AR, IL, KY, LA, MO, MS, TN, TX
Wildlife value
Oak trees support a wide variety of Lepidopteran. You may see Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), which have one flight from June-August everywhere but Florida where they emerge April-May. Edward's Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii), has one flight from May-July in the south and June-July in the north. Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), has three to four flights in the south from February-November and two flights in the north from May-September. White-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) has three broods in the north from February-October. Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) has three broods in Texas and the deep south from January-November, and two broods in the north from April-September. Juvenal’s Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) has one brood from April-June, appearing as early as January in Florida. Mildly resistant to deer. Birds and mammals eat the acorns.
Attracts
Butterflies; Moths; Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Nut
Edibility
Acorns are edible once the tannins have been leached or boiled out.