These three species look similar and even experts sometimes confuse them. All three species usually have leaves with seven or nine lobes. But the leaves of black oaks have yellow hairs on the underside. Most scarlet oak leaves have sharply pointed tips and deep notches between the lobes. These oaks are an important source of timber and tannin.
Many red oaks grow only in certain soils or locations.
For example, the blackjack oak grows in soils that contain much clay. This oak has pear-shaped leaves with golden hairs on the underside. The turkey oak is found in sandy soils of the Atlantic coastal plain. Its leaves have deeply notched edges. Evergreens in the red oak group are often called live oaks.