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Moss-Cupped Oak

Quercus cerris (KWER-kus SAIR-iss)

Family: Fagaceae Non-native Canopy (>40 ft)

Turkey Oak is a deciduous shade tree native to Europe and western Asia. It grows 40-60 feet tall and wide with a rounded crown and medium density. The acorns mature in 2 years and have a shaggy cup covering have the nut. The leaves are lobed and last into late fall but no fall color. Turkey Oak tolerates a wide range of soils except for wet ones. It is drought and salt tolerant. Plant as a shade tree in a lawn or as a street tree. This tree can be difficult to find in the nursery industry. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Numerous insect and disease pests, but the damage is rarely significant. Susceptible to oak wilt, anthracnose, cankers, leaf spots, powdery mildew, and oak leaf blister. Potential pests include scales, oak skeletonizers, leaf miners, aphids, galls, orangestriped oakworm, buck moth, whitemarked tussock moth, and lace bugs. The many varieties of Quercus serve as host plants for the larvae of the Imperial moth ( Eacles imperialis) as well as a wide variety of butterflies, such as Banded hairstreak ( Satyrium calanus ) , Edward's hairstreak ( satyrium edwardsii ) , Gray hairstreak ( Strymon melinus ) , White-m hairstreak ( Parrhasius malbum ) , Horace's duskywing ( Erynnis horatius ) , and Juvenal's duskywing ( Erynnis juvenalis ) . The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common pests and insects.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 69 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 1 - Canopy (>40 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Quercus bicolor Quercus incana Quercus rubra
Native alternatives Quercus georgiana Quercus laevis Quercus virginiana

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
24-60 feet; more than 60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in. | Width: 40 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Pyramidal; Rounded
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblanceolate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Entire; Lobed
Leaf feel
Rough
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
4"-5" long rough dark green lanceolate to oblong leaves. Margins are entire or toothed and have 3-8 pairs of lobes. Acute apex, base rounded to truncated. Hairs present on the undersides along the veins. They stay on the tree into late fall with little fall color.
Fall color
Insignificant
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Green
Flower form
Catkin; Insignificant
Flower detail
Yellow-green male catkins. Female flowers in small clusters.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Nut
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The acorns are .5 to 1 inch long in groups of 1-4 with cups that cover 1/2 of the nut. Cup is bristly and fringed. Matures in 18 months.
Bark color
Dark Gray
Bark detail
Dark gray ridged and furrowed bark reveals an orange color within its fissures
Stem color
Gray/Silver
Stem detail
The young shoots are gray and tomentose. The branches have raised leaf scars. The buds are small and reddish-brown in clusters and the bud scales extend beyond the bud. Each bud has more than three scales.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe, Western Asia
Wildlife value
Oak trees support a wide variety of Lepidopteran. You may see Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), which have one flight from June-August everywhere but Florida where they emerge April-May. Edward's Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii), has one flight from May-July in the south and June-July in the north. Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), has three to four flights in the south from February-November and two flights in the north from May-September. White-M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) has three broods in the north from February-October. Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) has three broods in Texas and the deep south from January-November, and two broods in the north from April-September. Juvenal’s Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) has one brood from April-June, appearing as early as January in Florida. Acorns are a fall and winter food source for some mammals.
Attracts
Butterflies; Moths; Pollinators; Small Mammals
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Nut
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Coastal; Lawn
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Drought Tolerant Garden; Nighttime Garden; Pollinator Garden
Design feature
Shade Tree; Street Tree
Garden tags
#small mammals #low maintenance #street tree #lawn tree #shade tree #food source fall #problem for horses #banded hairstreak butterfly #imperial moth #juvenal’s duskywing butterfly #edward’s hairstreak butterfly #nighttime garden #white-m hairstreak butterfly #horace’s duskywing butterfly #larval host plant #butterfly friendly #gray hairstreak butterfly #moth caterpillar host #food source hard mast fruit #pollinator plant #food source winter #wildlife friendly #butterfly caterpillar host
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Common Insect Pests of Oak in North Carolina; Oak Pest Management Calendar; Orangestriped Oakworm; Buck Moth; Whitemarked Tussock Moth
Disease problems
Common Disease Pests of Oak in North Carolina
Problems
Messy; Problem for Horses
Resistant to
Drought; Salt
Poison severity
Low
Poison symptoms
Abdominal pain, constipation then diarrhea (occasionally bloody), depression, frequent urination, discolored urine, jaundice; acorns can obstruct the digestive tract
Toxic principle
Gallotannin
Contact dermatitis
No
Toxicity summary
Low severity poison

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.

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