Bluejack Oak Tree

Series Summary

East Texas is full of various species of trees that thrive in relatively dry and sandy areas. Two main ecosystems collide in the Lost Pines Forest in Bastrop, Texas to create an ecotone that houses many different trees, shrubs and other foliage. A walk through an East Texas forest introduces several tree species, some of which contribute greatly to the Texas economy. In this free video series on Texas trees, and ecologist discusses several tree species found in East Texas. Learn about the Eastern juniper, the Post oak, the Loblolly pine, the Bluejack oak and the Yaupon that all reside in the Lost Pines Forest. Discover the significance of their habitat and the special ecotone that they occupy between two larger ecosystems.

Video Transcript

"My name's Kerry Russel. I have a Master's degree in Landscape Ecology. So now, we find ourselves up on a very high spot that has very, very sandy soil, very dry. Whereas a minute ago we took a look at the post Oak, which admittedly was on a dry site, but it was still on a slope. And the further and further uphill we went, away from the influence of the water from the creek, we come up to the top to where we have the least amount of water. And it's very exposed, which means there's a high evaporation rate here just due to the exposure and the heat of the sun. And the species that we find when we get up here is the bluejack oak. The bluejack oak is a part of the red oak group. Unlike the white oaks, like the post oak that we saw earlier, the fingernail has a very, very hard time penetrating the bark of a red oak. Okay? Other examples of oaks that in to the red oak group are the live oak, the cherry bark oak, the southern red oak. Maybe...maybe some of you know examples like that. The other thing is that when you look at the leaf, the leaf of the bluejack oak does not have lobes. This could be said to have very shallow lobes, or small lobes, but the main thing that I want you to notice is what you find at the end of these are pointed tips. And that's the thing that makes it also fall under the category of the red oak group. White oak group had rounded, soft tips. This has very pointed tips. The main thing I'd like for people to remember, though, is the relationship that this has with the habitat. With this very, very dry, drouthy, exposed, nutrient poor site."