Quercus durandii Buckley

Bastard Oak; Durand's Oak

Tree

Perennial

Vascular

<ul> <li><strong>Bastard Oak (</strong>aka<strong> Bastard White Oak)&nbsp;</strong>is a medium sized native deciduous tree in the Beech family (<strong>FAGACEAE</strong>). It occurs primarily in western Alabama and in the <strong>Black Belt</strong> region of Central Alabama. <strong>Bastard Oak</strong> occurs in prairies, in limestone woodlands, in pastures, and on fence rows in areas underlain by limestone. It is a medium sized tree reaching heights of 60-90 feet and a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet. Occasional individuals have multiple trunks. The bark is gray to whitish in thin loosely appressed plates. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, oblong to rhomboid or oblanceolate in outline. The margins are variously entire, sparsely toothed, or shallowly lobed. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and glabrous, the lower leaf surface is silvery to dull green with scattered 8-10-rayed stellate hairs. The leaves turn yellowish brown before leaf fall in the autumn. Male flowers are produced in greenish-yellow drooping catkins. Female flowers are solitary or paired on short spikes. The fruit is a nut. The acorns have a shallow flattened cup with greenish-gray scales with a reddish margin. The acorns mature in one year. Bastard Oak wood is dense and heavy, but brittle. It is a relatively rare species in Alabama and its wood is usually mixed with that of other white oaks. This species is sometimes listed as <em><strong>Quercus sinuata</strong></em> Walter variety <strong><em>sinuata</em></strong>. <strong>Bastard Oak</strong> is sometimes cultivated as a shade tree. It is available from some nurseries. <strong>Bastard Oak</strong> prefers full sun and a clay soil. It is drought tolerant once established.</li> <li>The national champion <strong>Bastard Oak</strong> is located in <em>Greene County</em>.--<em>A. Diamond</em></li> </ul>

<ul> <li style="text-align: left;">Named in honor of <strong>Elias Durand</strong> (<em>1794-1873</em>), an American pharmacist and botanist</li> <li style="text-align: left;"><strong>Buckley</strong> (1809-1884) cited <em>Wilcox County</em> in the protologue for the type material but no Buckley specimen is currently known in varoius museum collections from that county. This necessitated the designation of a neotype from adjacent <em>Dallas County</em> by <strong>Dorr &amp; Nixon</strong> in 1985.</li> </ul>

Native

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