BLACK OAK

(Quercus velutina), North American timber tree belonging to the red oak group of the genus Quercus in the beech family (Fagaceae), distributed throughout the eastern United States. It usually grows to about 25 m (80 feet) tall and may grow to 45 m on rich soils; it is common on exposed slopes and ridges, as it cannot tolerate shade. The tree's blackish outer bark is ridged in irregular blocks; the orange-yellow inner bark is a source of tannin and quercitron, a yellow dye. The leaf buds are sharply pointed and covered with down. The leaves are usually seven-lobed and glossy dark green above, duller and sometimes fuzzy beneath, turning orange-crimson or brown in autumn. The California black oak (Q. kelloggii), a deciduous tree native to western North America, is occasionally 30 m tall. It grows at altitudes as high as 2,440 m above sea level, where its size is reduced to that of a small shrub; it often has a crooked trunk.