On my way to the job today and while stopped at a light I spied this fully leafed tree which I thought some variety of white oak. No time to get a pic and busy road. The tree nerd in me stopped on the way back and grabbed a leaf. Ive never seen an oak (if it even is) leaf this big. On the leathery side. If not oak WTH is it? No cheating app users. Pics to follow.
Some kind of white oak for sure. At first I thought an irregular swamp white oak, but I'm not convinced. Then maybe post oak (you are at the extreme northern edge of its growing range on the CT shoreline) but it's still not quite right. Maybe it's a hybrid of the two, or another type of hybrid. Post oak: Swamp white oak:
The size of the leaf is what amazed me. I actually picked it from a low hanging branch. Thicker and leathery too
I've seen exaggerated-sized leaves in both the red and white family. I don't know what causes it though. As for this I.D., I'd be tempted to visit the immediate area and see what kinds of oaks are growing there. I'm fairly confident you found a hybrid.
It was growing right next to the sidewalk in New Haven. Probably a hybrid planted on purpose. I didn't think to check out the bark or trunk.
Def an oak of some kind. I find huge ones like that in our woods pretty regularly from swamp whites and burr's.
Yeah. White oak. When I first saw the picture I wonder if he was trying to buy the leaf or maybe already had bought it.
Chestnut oak is so named because the leaves look like chestnut leaves The usual suspect for overly large appearing leaves is shade adaptation, which fits with an understory leaf reached from the ground. Although, with Brad saying the leaf felt thick and leathery, I’d also say an abundance of nitrogen in the soil is probably playing a factor as well. It can make identification from a single leaf pretty difficult. Bark, tree form, and nuts/fruit at this time of year would also need to be considered for an accurate-ish identification.
It was an urban tree next to the sidewalk. It was on the southern edge of the yard and gets lots of sunlight. Being a spur of the moment decision I didn't think to look at the bark, but if my limited memory serves me correct I did glance at the trunk when I first went by and it looked "oaky" I wont be going that way anytime soon to get another look.
I've seen overly large leaves like that on juvenile and secondary growth white oak trees before.....might be the case in your situation?
50-75 year old tree IMO with lots of elbow room to grow outward as its an urban tree. I was able to reach that leaf from the ground. I have seen huge leaves on the black oak saplings sprouting around our woods.
LOL! I often use a dollar bill for scale. Its exactly 6" long and a handy quick ruler. And no it wasn't a money tree either!
Oh it’s almost certainly white oak. Likely swamp white. Hard to say definitively without more information though. The fact you were able to reach the leaf reinforces it being shade affected leaf. Especially on a 50-75 year old tree. Many of my clients have similar hardwood trees with overly large leaves. I wouldn’t call it common but it’s also not uncommon either.
I have two swampy white oaks planted in my yard that I bought from a nursery. That leaf is identical to mine. (had to go out in the rain and check).
