About Quercus hemisphaerica W.Bartram ex Willd.
Quercus hemisphaerica W.Bartram ex Willd. is a medium-sized evergreen to semi-evergreen tree. It can reach up to 35 meters (115 feet) in height, with a trunk diameter up to 1.5 meters (5 feet), though most mature specimens are between 18 and 20 meters (59–66 feet) tall. Its leaves are mostly smooth-edged, only bearing a single apical awn, and rarely develop a few additional teeth near the leaf apex. Leaves are typically elliptical or narrowly ovate, measuring 3–12 centimeters (1+1⁄8–4+3⁄4 inches) long by 1–4 centimeters (3⁄8–1+5⁄8 inches) wide. Leaf petioles are very short, ranging from 1 to 5 millimeters (1⁄16–3⁄16 inches) long, and the base of each leaf is obtuse to rounded. Its acorns have a hemispheric shape, measuring 9 to 16.5 millimeters (3⁄8 to 5⁄8 in) in both height and width. Acorns take 18 months to mature, and between one-quarter and one-third of the acorn is covered by a saucer- to bowl-shaped cap. This tree occurs naturally in the southeastern United States, ranging from Texas east and north to Delaware. It grows in somewhat dry sandy soils, on sand hills, and occasionally on hillsides. At least one natural hybrid involving this species is recorded: Quercus hemisphaerica crossed with Quercus laevis produces the hybrid named Quercus × mellichampii Trel.
