Identifying Characteristics
| Habitat: | Sand post oak grows in a variety of soil types, from gravelly or sandy, to moist and loamy. It is found in dry, well-drained, upland sites, such as open ridges, sandhill scrubs, and woods. It is often found with longleaf pine and turkey oak. |
| Size/Form: | Sand post oak is most often a small to medium, scrubby, deciduous tree, but it may grow to 65' tall in good locations. Its crown is irregular and spreading. |
| Bark: | The bark is light gray to reddish-brown with broad, flat ridges and scaly fissures. |
| Leaves: | The leaves are simple, alternate, and variable in shape, most often being 3 to 5-lobed and 2" to 4" long. The upper and central lobes are larger and more squarish, giving the leaves a distinctive cross-like form. The leaves are stiff, dark green, and smooth to slightly hairy on the upper surface and tannish-brown and hairy underneath. |
| Fruit: | The fruit is a ½" to ¾" ovoid acorn with a saucer-shaped cap. The cap is scaly, with soft hairs. The fruits may be single or clustered and are either sessile or on stalks. |