Scrub Or Turkey Oak

Picture taken by: Eric Williams
GPS points taken by: Marie Granados
Location: Pine Ridge Nature Preserve at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida

Elevation: 261Ft
Latitude: N27.93993
Longitude: W81.57699

The Scrub Oat is a single-stemmed evergreen shrub not exceeding about 2m in height, reported to reach top growth the size of a small tree but very seldomly fount today. It’s leaves alternate, simple elliptical 2 –12cm long, 1 – 7.5cm wide, held erect on the branch. It’s lower surface has a noticeable powdery yellow fuzz. The Scrub Oak’s male flowers borne in hanging catkins while the female flowers borne singly or in pairs only appearing in April and May.

The Scrub Oak is similar to the Myrtle Oak but is distinguished by having oborate leaves. This sand pine scrub and scrubby flantwood si associated with sand live oak. The Q. geminta and Champan Oak (Q. Chapmanii) is found ina restricted range from Southen most Orange to Highlands counties. They are also located in Hillbrough, Manchester and Hardee counties.

In 1929 inopina was recongnized by W.W. Ashe, but it wasn’t included as a distinct species by later authors Small and Wunderlin (1933) and Lakela (1980), It was presumably considered to be conspecific with Q. Myrtifolia. It was more than once asserted as a distinct specias by Ann Johnson and Warren Abrahamson in 1982.

Article written by: Chris Lee