Can someone please help me figure out what a particular tree is?
It had acorns, a bit smaller than most oak acorns I've seen.
The leaves were not multi-lobed like oak leaves; in fact they looked a lot like bay leaves. (They didn't smell like bay leaves, though.)
The bark was unremarkable, vaguely like a thousand varieties of deciduous trees (elm, oak, maple, etc).
It was located in Tamarack, West Virginia.
Thank you!
Ted Shoemaker
Ted any chance you can be a bit more vague? I'll place my hands on the screen and see what appears. Leafs vs. Leaves matters btw.
Bill
I'd google "oak leaves" and look in the image category. There are different kinds. Maybe you'll find yours.
In message , Ted Shoemaker writes
If you were in Europe I'd suggest something like Holm Oak (Quercus ilex). In America, perhaps one of the Live Oaks.
It's probably some variety of live oak. You can find some examples of the leaves with Google Images.
Brian
I had a peek in my trusty old Fieldbook of Natural History and found
Live Oak, Quercus virginiana, from VA to FLA and Shingle Oak, Q. imbricaria. from NJ to GA
Just to give you a start.
\Emilie
Wow. I learned something. Thank you.
I had thought that all oak leaves were multi-lobed.
Ted Shoemaker
In the future you might find this site useful:
From the sketchy description, I'd guess a "laurel" oak (Quercus hemisphaerica) or "swamp laurel" oak (Quercus laurifolia). The two species are basically indistinguishable to a casual observer. The leaves of both more closely resemble laurel leaves than do those of "live" oak (Quercus virginiana): They are much thinner and flatter and, as a rule, less deeply geen-colored. However, both are fairly uncommon, though not unseen, in the US state of West Virginia.
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