Dyer's oak
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| Quercus velutina Lamb. |
The Dyer's oak, Black oak, Spotted oak or, Yellowbark oak (Quercus velutina) is a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario south to northern Florida and southern Maine west to northeastern Texas. It is a common tree in the Indiana Dunes and other sandy dunal ecosystems along the southern shores of Lake Michigan. In the remainder of its range it is not common. In the northern part of its range, black oak is a relatively small tree, reaching a height of 20-25 m (65-80 ft) and a diameter of 90 cm (35 in), but it grows larger in the south and center of its range, where heights of up to 42 m (140 ft) are known.
The leaves of the black oak are alternately arranged on the twig and are 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long with 5-7 bristle tipped lobes separated by deep U-shaped notches. The upper surface of the leaf is a shiny deep green, the lower is yellowish-brown.
The fruits or acorns of the black oak are small and almost as wide as they are long. The upper half of the nut is covered by a cap of loose scales that often form a fringe around the acorn.
The inner bark of the black oak contains a yellow pigment called quercitron, which was sold commercially in Europe until the 1940s.
