Quercus prinus L. p.p.， nom. utique rej.
Quercus michauxii Nutt.
Chestnut oak, swamp chestnut oak
Chestnut oaks are natives of the eastern United States.
Plants: Trees reach about 80′ (24 m). See the Quercus comparison table.
Leaves: 4–11 ⨉ 2–7″ (10–27 ⨉ 5–17 cm), with many small, rounded indentations rather than lobes. They turn dark red in the fall.
Flowers: Staminate (male) flowers are slender yellow catkins 2–4″ (5–10 cm) long, and pistillate (female) flowers appear as very short few-flowered reddish spikes. Flowers appear from April to May.
Fruits: Acorns are ⅞–1¼″ long ⨉ ¾–⅞″ around (2.5–3.5 ⨉ 2–2.5 cm), bright chestnut brown, with a thin, warty cap that covers about ⅓ to ½ of each nut. Acorns form every several years.
Habitats: Bottomlands, silty floodplains, swampy areas, and other wetlands.
Edibility: Most acorns require boiling or long periods of soaking to remove tannic acid, but these are sweet-tasting and can be eaten raw.
Online References:
Quercus houstoniana C.H. Mull.
Quercus prinus L. p.p.， nom. utique rej.
Quercus prinus L. p.p.， nom. utique rej.
5/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
5/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/2/2010 · Raymondskill Falls, Delaware Water Gap National Recr, Pennsylvania · ≈ 3½ × 2½″ (8.7 × 7.1 cm) ID is uncertain 
7/4/2011 · Mike and Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 9 × 7″ (21 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/2/2010 · Raymondskill Falls, Delaware Water Gap National Recr, Pennsylvania · ≈ 3 × 2½″ (8.2 × 7 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/2/2010 · Raymondskill Falls, Delaware Water Gap National Recr, Pennsylvania · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/2/2010 · Hackers Trail, Cliff Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recr, Pennsylvania · ≈ 12 × 9″ (29 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/2/2010 · Hackers Trail, Cliff Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recr, Pennsylvania · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/19/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 9 × 7″ (24 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
7/4/2011 · Mike and Ellen’s, Milford, Pennsylvania · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fagales | Birch, she-oak, beech, walnut, bayberry, others |
| Family | Fagaceae | Beech familhy |
| Genus | Quercus | Latin for “oak” |
| Species | michauxii | For French naturalist Francois Andre Michaux (1770-1855). |
Quercus michauxii description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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