Blackjack oak

The Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) is a small oak, one of the red oak group but fairly isolated from the others. Its name derives from the shape of the leaves, which flare from a tapered base to a broad three-lobed shape with only shallow indentations. The leaves are typically dark green and glossy, but also pubescent underneath.

The acorn is very small, and, like other red oaks, takes 18 months to mature.

The Blackjack oak is successful because it is a survivor, growing in poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other woody plants can thrive. It does not have the beautiful form of many oaks, but is nonetheless a valuable tree for growing in problem sites. It is sometimes an understory tree in pine stands on sandy knolls in the southeastern US.

Blackjack oak is the preferred wood fuel for slow-cooked (Carolina style) pork barbecue. Family get-togethers at holiday time are preceded by all-night cooking of whole hogs, basted with family recipe sauces, over coals of blackjack oak, which imparts its own flavor to the meat.