Overcup Oak
Quercus lyrata
- Native to:
- United States
KATHERINE WAGNER-REISS
Taxonomy
- Division:
- Magnoliophyta | - Flowering plants
- Family:
- Fagaceae
- Genus:
- Quercus
- Species:
- Quercus lyrata
- USDA Symbol:
- QULY
Growth Characteristics
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Growth Habit:
- Tree
- Height:
- 2700 cm
- Light Requirements:
- Part Shade
- Drought Tolerance:
- Low
- Bloom Months:
- mar,apr,may
Wildlife Benefits
- Caterpillars:
- ★☆☆☆☆ Recorded caterpillar host plant (HOSTS Database)
Keystone Species Ranking
- Caterpillar Keystone:
- ★★★★★ Butterfly & moth species supported by this genus (NWF)
Host Plant for Caterpillars
Reported Fauna Sightings
Garden & Ecology Notes
- Wildlife Value:
- birds, squirrels, deer, wild turkey, wood ducks, waterfowl
- Fall Color:
- yellow, brown
- Fire Ecology:
- Fire adapted — tolerates or benefits from fire
- Fire Notes:
- Mature trees can survive low-intensity fires due to thick bark; saplings may resprout from root collar after top-kill.
Soil Requirements
- Soil Type:
- moist, nutrient-rich, alluvial soil
- pH:
- 4.5 - 6.5 (acidic to slightly acidic)
- Drainage:
- tolerates poor drainage
- Moisture:
- consistently moist
- Notes:
- commonly found in floodplains and bottomlands
Propagation & Germination
- Stratification:
- Cold/moist stratification required — 30–90 days
- Germination Time:
- 14–60 days
- Notes:
- Acorns germinate readily after cold stratification; plant immediately after collection in fall or stratify over winter. Acorns lose viability if allowed to dry out.
The above propagation data sourced from Claude AI
Pre-treatment: Seeds are soaked in clean water for 24 hours, then placed into damp peat moss and subjected to cold, moist stratification for 150 to 170 days at 36°F. Seeds are periodically checked during stratification to ensure that seeds and stratification medium are evenly moist and to check for radicle emergence.
Establishment: Seeds are typically collected from local sources within a 50 mile radius of the nursery during fall months. The Overcup oak is found in temperate deciduous forests of the United States, particularly on the Coastal Plain from southern Virginia to Georgia and northwestern Florida; west to eastern Texas; north in the Mississippi Valley to extreme southeastern Oklahoma, southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and western Kentucky.
Source: npn.rngr.net