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| ## cherrybark oak {#cherrybark-oak .Title-Header}                     |
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| *Quercus pagoda* Raf.                                                 |
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| Plant Symbol = QUPA5                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.625in" height="3.998611111111111in"}

# Brian Lockhart

USDA Forest Service

www.forestryimages.org

# Uses

*Commercial use:* The cherrybark tree has heavy strong wood that makes
it an excellent timber tree for furniture and interior finish. This tree
is also a pleasant shade tree and is a fast growing oak tree.

*Wildlife use:* Many wild animals and birds use the acorns of the
cherrybark as food. Within the range of this oak, animals and birds
include acorns as a substantial part (10 percent or more) of their
diets. Among these the heaviest eaters are the gray squirrel, wild
turkey, and blue jay, followed by the wood duck, red-bellied woodpecker,
redheaded woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, common grackle, raccoon,
white-tailed deer, and eastern fox squirrel

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

# Description

The cherrybark oak's dark gray bark is broken by narrow ridges into
small scales. Its twigs are rather stout, reddish brown to gray, usually
hairy when young, becoming smooth as the tree matures.

Its leaves are alternate, simple, pinnately divided into 5-11 pointed
lobes, the sinuses cut no more than half-way to the mid-vein, smooth and
shiny on the upper surface, paler and with star-shaped hairs on the
lower surface, not U-shaped at the base, up to 10 inches long, up to 7
inches wide.

Male and female flowers borne separately on the same plant, appearing
when the leaves begin to unfold; male flowers crowded into slender,
drooping spikes; female flowers few together.

Flower: Cherrybark oak is monoecious; unisexual flowers of both sexes
are borne on the same tree. Flowering occurs during April and May
throughout most of the range. The staminate flowers are borne in naked
aments (catkins) while pistillate flowers are green, solitary, very
small, and borne on a short stalk.

Fruit: Acorns are orange-brown nuts about 13 mm (0.5 in) long, globular
or hemispheric. with up to one-third of their length enclosed in a
shallow thin cap. This cap when young is scaly, and somewhat pubescent.
It takes two years for the fruit to mature.

Twig: The twigs are orange to reddish brown, often very pubescent with
older twigs becoming glabrous; multiple terminal buds (1/8 to 1/4 inch)
are pointed, reddish brown and have some pubescence on the upper half.

Bark: The bark appears initially smooth, but quickly developing small
scaly ridges, later becoming dark, scaly and quite rough. At times
resembling black cherry bark.

*Distribution*: Cherrybark oak is widely distributed on the best loamy
sites on first bottom ridges and on well-drained terraces and colluvial
sites. These sites occur along both large and small streams of the
Southeastern Coastal Plain and the Mississippi Valley north into
Missouri and Illinois, although the tree is rare in the lower
Mississippi Delta.

Cherrybark oak develops best on a loamy well-drained soil. Although
uncommon on clay soils, it is generally of good form and quality on such
soils if the drainage is good but very inferior where drainage is poor.
Cherrybark oak is grows mostly in humid, temperate climate characterized
by hot summers and mild winters where surface soil pH is acid to medium
acid. It is a lowland tree but is seldom numerous on wet or swampy
soils.

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: Cherrybark oak is found in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal
Plain, from southeastern Virginia to northwestern Florida; west to
eastern Texas; and north in the Mississippi Valley to extreme
southeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and
southwestern Indiana.

**Adaptation**

Cherry bark oak is a tree for poor, dry, acidic uplands, especially
upper slopes in the Appalachians. It is found mixed with other upland,
poor site oaks, especially scarlet, black, white and post oaks, and with
hickories and pines.

# Establishment

.The fruit is solitary or paired; the nut is enclosed one-third or less
in a thin, shallow cup. The fruit ripens in September and October, the
second season after flowering, and seedfall occurs during these months.

Seed production usually begins when a tree is about 25 years of age, but
maximum production is usually between the ages of 50 and 75 years.
Cleaned seeds average 1,190/kg (540/lb). Fall seeding of oaks is
preferred to spring seeding in the nursery. To obtain the highest
first-year survival, it is recommended the acorns be planted not less
than 1/2 inch deep and at seedbed densities of 12 to 15 evenly spaced
sound seed per square foot. Fall beds should be mulched with leaves or
straw held in place by hardware cloth covers or other effective
materials. The covering also serves as a protection against rodents. It
is usually not necessary to produce seedlings older than 1-0 for field
planting, but 2-0 seedlings are planted occasionally to obtain larger,
vigorous stock with more extensive root systems.

In natural stands, dissemination of acorns by gravity is important on
steep slopes. The hoarding habit of squirrels is also important in the
dispersal of seed of oaks.

It germinates under natural conditions in the spring following seedfall.
Cool, moist stratification is required for best results. Germination is
hypogeal.

Cherrybark oak sprouts vigorously from the stump when the top has been
killed or cut back. Sprouting is most prevalent on young stems 25.4 cm
(10 in) or less in diameter. With well-established root systems, growth
of sprout-origin stands is rapid, regardless of site quality, for about
20 years. Equations have been developed using sprout height at age 5
which predict the diameter growth and competition success of
coppice-regeneration at ages 12 and 30. Clones of southern red oak can
be propagated from cuttings of rooted stump sprouts and mature branches.
Cuttings from branches root better than cuttings from stump sprouts.
Root initiation is increased when cuttings are treated with the growth
hormone IBA and the fungicide folpet, and when cuttings 6.4 mm (0.25 in)
or larger are taken from the first flush after it hardens off and just
before second flush bud break. Survival after rooting is also increased
when larger cuttings are used.

# Pests and Potential Problems

Wood-boring insects often cause much damage in fire-scarred cherrybark
oaks and in over mature trees. Moreover, on poorly drained clay flats or
other poor sites, the mature trees are often infested with borers or the
wood is mineral streaked. Fires and hurricane winds seem to be
instrumental in introducing the borers and mineral streaks.

Trunk boring insects found in cherrybark oak are the carpenterworm
*(Prionoxystus robiniae),* red oak borer *(Enaphalodes rufulus),* oak
clearwing borer *(Paranthrene simulans),* and the living-beech borer
*(Goes pulverulentus)* (34,35). Oak twig galls (multiple species) are a
common occurrence in the loessial hills and coastal plain sites. Insects
identified as attacking southern red oak probably also attack cherrybark
oak; these are the defoliating Anisota oak worms *(Anisota* spp.), the
two lined chestnut borer *(Agrilus bilineatus),* Columbian timber beetle
*(Corthylus columbianus),* and pecan carpenterworm *(Cossula
magnifica).* Other probable cherrybark oak insects are the hickory
spiral borer *(Agrilus arcuatus* var. *torquatus)* and the oak-stem
borer *(Aneflormorpha subpubescens).*

Hispidus canker *(Polyporus hispidus)* is common on cherrybark oak. Rot
fungi attacking southern red oak and possibly cherrybark oak are
*Hericium erinaceus, Laetiporus sulphureus,* and *Daedalea quercina.*
Leaf blister caused by *Taphrina caerulescens* occurs frequently.
Cherrybark oak is susceptible to oak wilt *(Ceratocystis fagacearum).*
Heart rot in standing cherrybark oak trees generally is greater on poor
sites than on good sites*.*

As in most of the oaks, the acorn is subject to damage by nut or acorn
weevils, such as *Curculio baculi, C. longidens, C. pardalis,* and
*Conotrachelus posticatus,* and the filbertworm *(Melissopus
latiferreanus.*

Pine voles have destroyed cherrybark oak seedlings in out plantings in
the loess hills.

# Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These materials are readily available from commercial plant sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Applequist, M. B. 1959. *Growth of planted cherrybark oak in
southeastern Louisiana.* Louisiana State University Forestry Notes 26.
Baton Rouge.2 p.

Baker, James B., and W. M. Broadfoot. 1979. *A practical field method of
site evaluation for commercially important southern hardwoods.* USDA
Forest Service, General Technical Report SO-26. Southern Forest
Experiment Station, New Orleans, LA. 51 p.

Barham, Richard 0. 1980. *Effects of seedbed density on nursery-grown
cherrybark oak.* Tree Planters\' Notes 31(4): 7-9.

Bollin, Frederick S. 1966. *Direct seeding of red and white oaks in
southeastern Louisiana.* Thesis (M.F.), Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge.

Bonner, F. T. 1971. *Storage of acorns and other large hardwood
seeds-problems and possibilities. In Proceedings*, Southeastern
Nurserymen\'s Conference. p. 77-82. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Southeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Atlanta, GA.

Bonner, F. T. 1974*, Maturation of acorns of cherrybark, water and
willow oaks*. Forest Science 20(3): 238-242.

Broadfoot, W. M. 1969. *Problems in relating soil to site index for
southern hardwoods*. Forest Science 15(4): 354-364.

Broadfoot, W. M., B. G. Blackmon, and J. B. Baker. 1972. *Soil
management for hardwood production. In Proceedings, Symposium on
Southeastern Hardwoods, September 15-16, 1971, Dothan, Alabama.* p.
17-29. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southeastern Area State and
Private Forestry, Atlanta, GA.

Clark, R. H. 1958. *Direct seeding of cherrybark oak. In Proceedings,
Seventh Annual Forestry Symposium,* Louisiana State University, Baton
Rouge. p. 5-9.

Kormanik, P. P., R. P. Belanger, and E. W. Belcher. 1976. *Survival and
growth of containerized and bare root seedlings of cherrybark oak*. Tree
Planters\'Notes 27(3): 9,10,23.

Langdon, 0. Gordon, and Kenneth B. Trousdell. 1978. Stand manipulation:
effects on soil moisture and tree growth in southern pine and
pine-hardwood stands. In Proceedings, Soil Moisture and Site
Productivity Symposium. p. 221-236. William E. Balmer, ed. USDA Forest
Service, Southeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Atlanta, GA.

Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1971. Atlas of United States trees, vol. 1.
Conifers and important hardwoods. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Miscellaneous Publication 1146. Washington, DC. 9 p., 313 maps. .

McCracken, F. 1. 1978. *Canker-rots in southern hardwoods.* U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet 33.
Washington, DC. 4 p.

McKnight, J. S. 1968. *Ecology of four hardwood species. In Proceedings,
Seventeenth Annual Forestry Symposium*, Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge. p. 99-116.

Solomon, J. D. 1972. Biology and habits of the living beech borer in red
oaks. Journal of Economic Entomology 65:13071310.

Solomon, J. D., and R. C. Morris. 1966. Clearwing borer in red oaks.
USDA Forest Service, Research Note SO-39. Southern Forest Experiment
Station, New Orleans, LA. 3 p.

Toole, E. R. 1963. *Site affects rate of decay in cherrybark oa*k. Plant
Disease Reporter 47(6): 568.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1972. *Insects and
diseases of trees in the South*. USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Area
State and Private Forestry, Atlanta, GA. 81 p.

**Prepared By:**

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Jeffrey D. Walker Wilson

Earth Team Volunteer, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

**Species Coordinator:**

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 060803 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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