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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Quercus muehlenbergii — chinkapin oak, yellow chestnut oak

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Facts

Chinkapin oak is notable for its shaggy bark, and its shiny, green leaves with shallow teeth that turn upwards at the tip and have a tiny projection (papilla) at each tip. It specializes on bedrock with high pH, such as marble; as such, it is quite rare in New England, and is listed as threatened in Massachusetts. It is also vulnerable to strangulation by the invasive Oriental bittersweet vine, and to voracious deer, which eat its seedlings. It flowers from late May to early June.

Habitat

Forests, ridges or ledges, talus and rocky slopes

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont
Growth form
  • the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
  • the plant is a tree
Leaf type
the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
32–210 mm
Leaf blade width
10–106 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
Twig winter color
  • brown
  • gray
  • orange
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    NA
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    NA
    Hypanthium present
    the flower does not have a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    • the inflorescence has only one flower on it
    • the inflorescence is an ament (catkin; slender, usually pendulous inflorescence with crowded unisexual flowers)
    Number of pistils
    1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals
    Petal appearance
    NA
    Petal fusion
    NA
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Stamen number
    • 1 or 2
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    NA
    Fruit tissue origin
    there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a nut (dry and indehiscent, with a hard wall, usually containing only one seed and usually subtended by an involucre)
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    NA

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    • the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
    • the plant is a tree

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
    • the base of the leaf blade is truncate (ends abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off)
    Leaf blade edges
    the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    • NA
    • at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade are branched
    Leaf blade length
    32–210 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf blade width
    10–106 mm
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    the lobes of the leaf blade are rounded or bluntly pointed
    Leaf midrib glands
    the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf stalk nectaries
    there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
    Leaf teeth
    • the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
    • the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    • the leaf blade margin is undulate (wavy), but does not have teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Massachusetts
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • forests
    • ridges or ledges
    • talus or rocky slopes

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Pith shape
    the ouline of the pith in a twig is roughly star-shaped, with several points or arms radiating from the center
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    • brown
    • gray
    • orange
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Connecticut
uncommon (S-rank: S3)
Massachusetts
rare (S-rank: S2), threatened (code: T)
Vermont
uncommon (S-rank: S3)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

9.  Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm. N

yellow chestnut oak. Quercus acuminata (Michx.) Sargent; Q. prinoides Willd. var. acuminata (Michx.) Gleason; Q. prinus L. var. acuminata Michx. • CT, MA, VT; western New England. Ridges, hills, and outcrops on high-pH bedrock. Quercus muehlenbergii and Q. prinoides are frequently confused. The former is a small tree and does not begin producing fruits until it reaches 3 m or more of height. Quercus prinoides is a colonial shrub that does produce fruits often when the plants are shorter than 0.5 m.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Quercus montana:
blades lacking a papilla-like point at the apex of each tooth-like lobe, bark dark gray to dark brown with deep furrows, neither flaky nor scaly, and carpellate involucre 18–25 mm in diameter (vs. Q. muehlenbergii, with leaf blades often with a papilla-like point at the apex of each tooth-like lobe, bark gray, without deep furrows, flaky or scaly on mature stems, and carpellate involucre mostly 8–20 mm in diameter).
Quercus prinoides:
leaf blades with mostly 5–8 pairs of secondary veins and plants colonial shrubs rarely exceeding 3 m in height, found usually on dry soils of ridges and sandy plains (vs. Q. muehlenbergii, with leaf blades with mostly 10–14 pairs of secondary veins and plants small trees to 18 m tall, usually found on limestone and marble hills and outcrops).

Synonyms

  • Quercus acuminata (Michx.) Sargent
  • Quercus prinoides Willd. var. acuminata (Michx.) Gleason
  • Quercus prinus L. var. acuminata Michx.

Family

Fagaceae

Genus

Quercus