Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Cerris
Section: Cerris ("East Asia group")
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Quercus acutissima
FAMILY
Fagaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read Edible Wild Plants: Oak from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Read more about Quercus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Sawtooth is a non-native oak introduced from Asia in 1862. It has been widely planted as an ornamental and as a food source for deer and turkeys. Concerns about the escape of sawtooth oak into natural areas has led to it being listed as an invasive tree in 8 states. Fortunately, there are numerous oak trees native to America that you can plant as an alternative to Sawtooth Oak. These native oaks also produce abundant acorns for wildlife and their leaves are also a great food source for our native caterpillars, which feed the nestling songbirds that everyone loves to see and hear. Read more at Southern Piedmont Natural History.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus acutissima
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Quercus acutissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus acutissima
COMMON NAME:
Sawtooth Oak
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm080410_002
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
)
JK Marlow jkm080410_004
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
Acorn cup with a fringed rim of elongated scales, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm080410_009
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
Bark furrowed, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm080410_011
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
)
JK Marlow jkm080410_013b
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
Leaves resemble those of Castanea, with awn-terminated marginal teeth, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
COMPARE
leaves of Chestnut and Sawtooth Oak
)
JK Marlow s080410_a
April Lexington County SC
Parking lot
)
JK Marlow s030800_a
August Williamsburg County SC
Evenly spaced lateral veins, ending in bristle-tipped teeth, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_quercus_acutissima_3
September
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_quercus_acutissima_4
September
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_001
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_003
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Quercus acutissima
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus acutissima
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Quercus acutissima
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Quercus acutissima
1180
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Commonly cultivated as a suburban street tree and also widely planted in ‘wildlife food plots’, rarely naturalizing, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Japan
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate, 5-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-8 lobed, pistillate calyx 6-lobed
Petals absent
3-12 stamens in staminate flowers
Unisexual
Staminate flowers in clustered drooping catkins
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Acorn
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p117
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p283
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p266
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