Large tree to 25 m (80 ft) tall and 75 cm (30 in) diameter. Twigs slender, shiny dark reddish brown, glabrous, ending in a cluster of small pointed dark brown glabrous buds. Bark dark gray, smooth and hard, becoming darker and furrowed into short broad scaly ridges on older trunks. Leaves alternate, elliptical, 8-13 cm (3.1-5.1in) long and 5-10 cm (2-4 in) wide, divided nearly to midvein into 5-7 lobes with a few bristle-tipped teeth and with wide rounded sinuses, shiny dark green above, light green below with with tufts of hairs in the vein junctions. Fruits are acorns maturing in the second year, about 10-12 mm (0.4 in) long and wide, with a shallow cup.
Distribution: Native to the eastern U. S. except for the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Habitat: mostly swampy or poorly drained floodplain sites in the Arkansas Valley and northeastern Oklahoma.
Comment: The species is an important source of red oak lumber. Quercus is the ancient classical name for the European oaks; palustris means "of marshes" and refers to its wetland habitat.
NWI status: FAC
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
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Last update: 9/17/99
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