Oak Tree Leaves

Would you like to about oak tree leaves? Maybe you would like to identify the different oak trees. Read on to learn how to identify oak trees and learn more about them.

Oak trees can grow to be 100 feet tall and most are deciduous but the "live oaks" are evergreen. There are also oak shrubs included in the 600 species of oak tree. They are great as shade trees and their wood is used for lumber since it is hard, durable, and attractive. It is used in building boats, furniture, flooring, barrels, handles, and veneer. They have hard wood, rigid bark, and the different shapes of oak tree leaves are used for identification.

Before you get into the specifics, it is helpful to look at oak tree leaves in general.

Their leaves are broad, flat, and thin.
In describing leaves, you look at their lobes and sinuses; the sinuses are the space between the lobes. There can be up to 20 lobes on an oak tree leaf.
The leaves can be leathery looking on the top and are usually a lighter color on the underside.

Identifying Oak Trees

Now that you have a general idea, here is a list of some common oak trees and a description of their leaves.

Blackjack Oak Leaf: Three shallow lobes with a sharp tip, leathery bell-shape, orange hair underneath
Black Oak Leaf: Five to nine lobes, ovate shape, shiny green on top and pale underneath with hairs
Bur Oak Leaf: Many lobes, egg-shaped, deep sinuses, tip of the leaf resembles a crown, pale and fuzzy underneath
Canyon Live Oak Leaf: Sharp tipped lobes with bristles at the tip
Cherry bark Oak Leaf: V shaped base, short, broad tips
Chestnut Oak Leaf: Oval shape, wider towards the tip, rounded margins with small teeth
Chinquapin Oak Leaf: Toothed margins, parallel side veins, yellow mid vein
Coast live Oak Leaf: Glossy leaves with thin, toothed edges
Common Oak Leaf: Four to five rounded lobes, dull green on top and brighter underneath, grow in bunches with no stem
Cork Oak Leaf: Elliptical shape, wavy teeth, round lobes, dark green leathery tops and lighter underneath
Holm Oak Leaf: Higher leaves are smooth and lower ones are spiny, turn glossy as they age
Hungarian Oak Leaf: Large and dark green leaves, pointed at the tip, rounded lobes
Japanese Blue Oak Leaf: New leaves are red and turn glossy green as they get older, also called a Ring Cup Oak
Live Oak Leaf: Narrow and elliptical, glossy dark green with dull grayish green underneath, pointed tip
Northern Pin Oak Leaf: Ornamental oak, long and narrow shape, long stem, turns deep red in the fall
Northern Red Oak Leaf: 7-11 lobes taper to tips with bristles, shallow sinuses, red mid veins, deep red in fall
Nuttall Oak Leaf: Changes from dull green to deep red in the fall, angular lobes, new leaves have red veins
Pin Oak Leaf: Elliptical, five to seven lobes with U-shaped sinuses, lobes almost at right angles to the mid vein, bright green with hairy underneath part
Post Oak Leaf: Oblong with three lobes, two middle lobes have a square shape, thick texture, broad sinuses, upper surface waxy, hairy underneath
Red Oak Leaf: Angular leaves with rounded base, small spines
Scarlet Oak Leaf: Seven lobes with deep rounded sinuses, bristles at the tips, V-shaped base, hairy underneath
Shingle Oak Leaf: Oval leaves without lobes, yellow mid veins, also called Laurel Oak Leaf
Shumard Oak Leaf: 5-7 rounded lobes, bristled tips, dark green on top and lighter underneath with brown hairs

Southern Red Oak Leaf: Three to seven lobes with bristled tips, reverse bell-shape base, smooth and dark green on top, yellow hairs underneath
Swamp Chestnut Oak Leaf: 15 to 20 lobe-like rounded teeth, coarse texture, deep sinuses, silvery colored hairs underneath
Turkey Oak Leaf: Sharp tips with bristles, deep lobes, narrow leaves, shiny green on top
Water Oak Leaf: Usually rounded at the top and wedged at the base, can resemble a duck's foot, lobe tips have bristles, blue green top and paler with brown hairs underneath
White Oak Leaf: Seven to nine lobes, bottom of the deep sinuses rounded, no spines, dark green top and paler underneath
Willow Oak Leaf: Small, thin, and shaped like a spear with bristles at the tip, color varies from light green to yellowish brown, turn yellow in the fall, waxy texture