Overcup Oak

Description

“Pet poisonous” – Toxic parts: shoots, leaves Quercus lyrata, the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group (Quercus sect. Quercus). It is native to lowland wetlands in the eastern and south-central United States, in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, inland as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. There are historical reports of it growing in Iowa, but the species appears to have been extirpated there. Overcup oak acorns, showing the nut largely enclosed by the acorn cup Quercus lyrata is a medium-sized deciduous tree, growing to 20 meters (66 feet) tall, with a trunk up to 80 cm (31 in) in diameter, or rarely to 140 cm (55 in). The leaves are 10–16 cm (4–6 1⁄4 in) long, or rarely to 20 cm (7 3⁄4 in), and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad, deeply lobed, often somewhat lyre-shaped (lyrate), dark green above, paler and often finely hairy beneath.