Cherrybark Oak (Quercus pagoda)

Leaves alternate, simple, 6–7 inches long; margin with 5–11 lobes; top of lobes at right angles to the central vein, fairly evenly spaced and uniform in size, bristle-tipped, notches between lobes shallow; shiny dark green above, pale and with whitish, yellowish or grayish hairiness below. Leaf stalks often flattened. Leaves often have a drooping appearance. Turn reddish-brown in fall.

Bark gray to black with scaly, narrow ridges similar to the bark of black cherry.

Flowers April–May, in catkins.

Fruits September–October, acorns single or in pairs; nut light brown, broadest at the base and rounded at the top, ½ inch wide and long, cup covering a third of the nut, shallow; scales reddish-brown with a dark border, flattened, hairy; seed bitter; ripen in autumn of second year.