Turkey Oak

This tree grows in poor, sandy soil and can be up to 30 feet tall. It is a red oak with heavy, hard wood of little value except for fuel. Leaves have 3 to 5 deeply divided lobes; the bark is dark gray tinged with red.

Quercus laevis, the American Turkey Oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the southeastern United States, occurring on the coastal plain from Delaware south to central Florida, and west to southeast Louisiana. The name of the American species derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey's foot.

It is a small tree, sometimes shrubby, typically only 26–33 ft tall, though occasionally reaching 59 ft. It typically grows on poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other oaks can thrive. It does not have the beautiful crown form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing on infertile, dry, sandy sites. It commonly forms an understory tree in Longleaf Pine and other pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern United States.

The deeply lobed, attractive leaves are variable in size, mostly 3.9–6.7 in long but occasionally just 3.1 in or as much as 12 in long. They have 3–7 slender lobes, deeply incised between the lobes, each lobe with 1–3 bristle teeth at the tip. The acorns are about 0.79–0.98 in long, and, like other red oaks, take 18 months to mature.
It is a small tree, sometimes shrubby, typically only 26–33 ft tall, though occasionally reaching 59 ft. It typically grows on poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other oaks can thrive. It does not have the beautiful crown form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing on infertile, dry, sandy sites. It commonly forms an understory tree in Longleaf Pine and other pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern United States.

The deeply lobed, attractive leaves are variable in size, mostly 3.9–6.7 in long but occasionally just 3.1 in or as much as 12 in long. They have 3–7 slender lobes, deeply incised between the lobes, each lobe with 1–3 bristle teeth at the tip. The acorns are about 0.79–0.98 in long, and, like other red oaks, take 18 months to mature.
The younger trees possess a dark to blackish bark that becomes thick, rough, and deeply furrowed into irregular ridges as the tree matures. The inner bark is red in color.

The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and light brown in color with a light red tint. It has been used for fuel, lumber, and general construction in the past, but today is used mainly for fuel wood and barbecuing.