Question: Looking at the acorns of this tree, I originally was thinking Quercus velutina, but then another person, looking at the …
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Question
Looking at the acorns of this tree, I originally was thinking Quercus velutina, but then another person, looking at the depth of the sinuses of the leaf blades, thought it was Q. coccinea. So I went back and looked at the terminal buds. They appeared pretty hairy and measured 10 mm. What is your verdict?
Answer
chaffeemonell, with winter buds of that size and pubescence, it cannot be Quercus coccinea. This looks like a good match for Quercus velutina. One of the issues that often confuses people is sun vs. shade leaves. They are really different sometimes, with sun leaves have much deeper sinuses than shade leaves. In the forest, most people are familiar with the leaves they can reach (i.e., the shade leaves) and don't always know what the sun leaves look like. Best wishes.
