Quercus nigra
water oak
A substantial, soaring specimen stands at the southeast corner of Bing Concert Hall, likely a remnant of the oak section of an extensive planting made around Frost Amphitheater soon after it was built. A 1948 tree map shows a pair standing there, though identified as Q. marilandica, which which the species has long been confused. The map also shows the large pin oak along the path toward Galvez Street, now the sole survivor of a group of six.
The unusual kite-shaped leaves are broad toward the tip and taper to a long, narrow base, and notoriously variable beyond that; they are often shallowly three-lobed at the broad end and may have fine bristles. The small dome-shaped acorns sit in shallow, flattish cups. Young trees grown from acorns gathered from this specimen are in the Magic oak planting near Palo Road. In Palo Alto, three lush specimens of Q. nigra grow just south of the southwest corner of the tennis courts at Rinconada park, across from the path.
Gallery
- The Bing tree was identified as Quercus marilandica in Bracewell (2005) and is likely the tree with the same ID in Penney (1948). Arborist David Muffly wrote (n.d.):
my identification… differs from what is in the latest Trees of Stanford book [2005]. But I have looked at other Q. nigra around the state and talked with oak nurserymen and am quite confident this is an accurate identification. It also agrees with the i.d. made independently by one of your staff a few years ago… The tree is roughly 35'×35'. It is classed as a semi-evergreen, which in this case indicates it shows fall color, and drops its leaves, later than any local deciduous tree, and then keeps a few green leaves in the lower canopy throughout the winter. The leaves themselves are thick, glossy, “wedge”-shaped, and turn a reasonable yellow/orange. In recent years this tree has been observed to produce a few acorns, which are quite small and take two years to ripen. The area immediately around the tree is notorious for being a wet spot on the campus – water is often seen sitting near the tree during rainy winters. This natural supplemental water may help explain the good growth of this particular tree (native to the southeastern U.S.) in what appears to be an otherwise dry and unirrigated location…
Douglas Goldman, Harvard University Herbaria, wrote 21 June 2009:
In agreement with the comment from David Muffly I think this tree is probably Quercus nigra, the water oak. It is definitely not Quercus marilandica. The leaves and twigs are far too narrow and the leaf texture is too thin to be Quercus marilandica. Quercus nigra have small acorns and usually hold some leaves through the winter, so from Muffly’s description this tree on Stanford’s campus would fit the description of this species.
I’ll admit that the leaves shown in the image are a bit strange for Q. nigra too, as they are consistently sharply 3-lobed, unlike the typically round-lobed to unlobed leaves of this species. Quercus nigra usually produces sharply lobed leaves on rapidly growing shoots, typically from where there has been trunk or stem damage, so perhaps the leaves shown online come from such a shoot. However, if this tree only has leaves like this then perhaps it is a hybrid, possibly with Q. falcata or maybe even with Q. marilandica.
- Main References for New Tree Entries.
- Penney, Dolores Jeanne. 1948. “Trees in the Frost Amphitheatre Area.” SC1049, Map case Na2, Map number M687, Stanford University Special Collections.
About this Entry: Authored Aug 2026 by Sairus Patel.
