An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae.

The Florida oaks fall into two sections of subgenus Quercus: section Lobatae (the red oaks) and section Quercus (the white oaks).

For our purposes, those oak species found on the Lake Wales Ridge will be defined as those with herbarium specimens vouchered in Polk and Highlands counties in the USF Atlas of Vascular Plants.

Those oaks are the thirteen following species and one hybrid, in order as found in the USF Quercus genus identification key:

https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Genus.aspx?id=1031

The identification key is based on morphological differences in general, and is not a perfect identification system for Florida oaks. While it can be fairly straightforward to identify oak trees, sometimes we just have to make our best guess.

Hybrids happen regularly on the Lake Wales Ridge and will be more difficult to identify. One official hybrid of the Lake Wales Ridge has been added to the end of the list.

Red Oaks (section Lobatae) of the Lake Wales Ridge

Red oaks typically have more acute-tipped buds, awned or bristled leaf blades, and more bitter or astringent acorns that mature in the second year after flowering.

1. Quercus falcata

Known as Spanish Oak and Southern Red Oak, this rare species to Polk county is not vouchered in Highlands county. Many believe it does not occur at all in Polk county. The Lake Wales Ridge is the very southern edge of Q. falcata‘s range. It likes to hybridize with other red oaks, making identification more difficult. Nevertheless, it can be found, and has been vouchered in the herbarium, so its on our list.

4. Bark with rough ridges; base of leaf blade typically U-shaped; leaf blade lobes 3-7

Q. falcata identification key

In Polk County, on the Lake Wales Ridge, Southern Red Oaks seem to hybridize with other red oaks, and can be confused with Quercus x Asheana or even Q. laevis.