
Overcup Oak - Quercus lyrata Beech Family (Fagaceae)
It gets its common name from the distinctive bur-like acorn cup that typically encloses 2/3 to almost all of the nut. This renders it buoyant in flood areas.1
Birds and small mammals eat the acorns.1
The overcup oak has smaller acorns and slightly smaller leaves than the similar Bur Oak.2
References:
- Quercus lyrata. North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/quercus-lyrata/. Publication date unavailable. Accessed December 4, 2023.
- How to Identify an Overcup Oak. Washington University Arboretum. https://trees.wustl.edu/how-to-identify-an-overcup-oak/. No Publication Date. Accessed December 4, 2023.
- https://arboretum.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/superblock_aside_images/04969_quercus_lyrata.jpg
- https://objects.liquidweb.services/images/201807/bill_hubick_29554641568_9725e91698_b.jpg
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/eit-planttoolboxprod/media/images/QuercusLyrataBark_Ch_CzoKmVICc3Vg.jpeg
- https://images.squarespacecdn.com/content/v1/544591e6e4b0135285aeb5b6/1614723759465-WFGDQ02MJKX3Y4A8Y6MV/23926933860_c6ca6d75d0_o.jpg