*Oak, sawtooth

*Sawtooth oak

Acorn.

*Quercus acutissima
SAWTOOTH OAK
Fagaceae
Asia

Location: map coordinates W-21 (near southwest corner of Warren-Franklin Hall), N 39°11'4'' W 75°32'37''

Planting history: presently unknown.

Description:

medium-sized deciduous tree
etymology: Quercus = the Latin name; acutissima = very sharply pointed (the leaf teeth)
leaves with small, regular, teeth (hence common name “sawtooth”)
monoecious (separate male and female flowers on same tree); flowers tiny; male flowers in drooping catkins, female flowers inconspicuous
fruit is an acorn (develops from ovary of female flower); cup with distinctive soft bristles
in the “red/black oak group”: leaf teeth with bristle-tips; acorn matures in 2 years, relatively bitter and inedible unless processed
end buds clustered (typical of oaks)
fast-growing
wood prone to splitting/cracking; normally relegated to use for fencing
in Delaware, cultivated and escaping to fields

*Non-native species (not native to Delaware). Listed as Invasive in Delaware

Catkins of small male flowers