Species Factsheets
Quercus shumardii
Shumard Oak
State Status: Pennsylvania Endangered (PE)
PBS Status: Pennsylvania Endangered (PE)
Federal Status:
Global Rank: G5
rank interpretation
State Rank: S2
Did You Know?
Galls produced by the tree are astringent and can be used in treating haemorrhages, dysentery, diarrhoea and more.
Description
Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) is a large, deciduous tree that reaches up to 30m in height. It has gray, furrowed bark and grayish-brown, dull, bud scales on the mature branchlets. The leaves are alternate and deeply lobed. Each leaf has seven to nine sharply toothed lobes that tend to widen slightly toward the tip. The 10-18cm leaves are dark green above, and paler green below with hairs clustered in the leaf axils.
Rank Justification
Imperiled in the nation or state because of rarity due to very restricted range, very few populations (often 20 or fewer), steep declines, or other factors making it very vulnerable to extirpation from the nation or state.
PABS
The PA Biological Survey considers Shumard oak to be a species of special concern, based on the relatively few occurrences that have been confirmed. It has been assigned a rarity status of Endangered.
Habitat
The species grows in moist to wet woods along streams, bottomlands, and lower slopes, often on calcareous substrate.
Survey Dates
Fruits September - October
Distribution
In Pennsylvania, it has been found in the south-central and northwestern counties.
Management
Maintenance of known populations and preservation of the communities where Shumard oak grows will be crucial to its survival. Creating buffers around fragmented habitat and removal of invasive species will help to maintain populations and encourage new population growth. The management of the known sites requires long term monitoring of populations. Potential sites for restoration should be evaluated.
Conservation Status Map
NatureServe. 2017. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org.
https://practicalplants.org/wiki/Quercus_shumardii
- NatureServe. 2018. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at https://www.natureserve.org/explorer
- Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. 2018.
- Rhoads, A.F. and W.M. Klein, Jr. 1993. The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rhoads, A.F. and T.A. Block.
- 2007. The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual. 2nd edition. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
