Central Great Plains, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains, Red Prairie
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands
Plant Characteristics
Growth Form
Tree
Height
40
to
50
ft.
Spread
30
to
40
ft.
Leaf Retention
Deciduous
Lifespan
Perennial
Habitat and Care Requirements
Soil Type(s)
Sand, Acid, Well Drained
Light Requirement
Sun, Part Shade
Water Requirement
Low
Native Habitat
Grassland
Bloom and Attraction
Bloom Color
Yellow, Brown
Bloom Season
Spring
Seasonal Interest
Nuts, Larval Host
Wildlife Benefit
Butterflies, Birds, Small Mammals
Maintenance
Prune for shape or to raise canopy. Propagation: Seed.
Comments
Most common oak throughout Texas. This is the ultimate drought resistant tree, but also grows in soggy, flatwoods soils. Its roots are extremely sensitive to disturbance. Slow-growing and long-lived. Larval Host: Northern hairstreak, Horace’s Duskywing.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym(s): Quercus stellata var. attenuata, Quercus stellata var. parviloba
References
1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Miller, George O., Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas 2nd Ed., 2013, pg 48. 3) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 344. 4) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUST. 5) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Quercus+stellata&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 6) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=11977&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 7) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=19422#null