Three-lobed leaves have a turkey foot appearance. Leaves are often curved, drooping and with twisted petioles. The leaf base is tapered whereas the leaf base of southern red oak is bell-shaped.
Twigs are red-brown and smooth with pubescent, angled terminal buds clustered on the ends of twigs.
Bark is thick, grooved and blocky. Fruit is an acorn 1 inch long with a shaggy cap with scales that roll inward on the edge. The acorn matures in two seasons. Turkey oak is a small tree found on sandhill sites in the southeastern Coastal Plain. Intolerant of shade.