Chapman’s oak
Quercus chapmanii
Fagaceae


Landscape Uses:

Accent tree in dry soils.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
Small to medium tree or large shrub with broad-spreading branches and a round-topped crown. Trunks often leaning, to 6 inches in diameter. Bark gray, broken into irregular plates. Leaves semi-deciduous, leathery, usually dark green when mature, about 2-3 inches long.
Height:
Typically 15-25 feet in height in South Florida; to 45 feet in Florida. Can be as broad as tall.
Growth Rate:
Slow.
Range:
Southeastern United States south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website.
Habitats:
Scrub, scrubby flatwoods and xeric hammocks.
Soils:
Moist to dry, well-drained sandy soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils or soils with some organic content.
Salt Water Tolerance:
Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Green.
Flower Characteristics:
Inconspicuous. Pollination is by wind.
Flowering Season:
Spring.
Fruit:
Brown acorn. Edible.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for Horace's duskywing (Erynnis horatius), Juvenal's duskywing (Erynnis juvenalois), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) butterflies; possible larval host fof oak hairstreak (Fixsenia favonius). The acorns are utilized by squirrels.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed.
Comments:


Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton