Quercus macrocarpa Michx.

Low shrub to tall tree, the latter with rough, deeply furrowed bark; lvs large, oblong to obovate, cuneate at base, pale beneath with a close, fine stellate pubescence, with 4–7 pairs of blunt or acute lateral lobes, a pair of sinuses near the middle usually deeper than the others; winter-buds pubescent; fr sessile or stoutly short-peduncled, the cup covering a third to more often two-thirds or even all the nut, pubescent within, the marginal scales acuminate into slender awns forming a terminal fringe; nut depressed-ovoid to narrowly ovoid, 1–4 cm thick. Var. macrocarpa, a tree to 50 m, occurs in moist woods and alluvial flood-plains from N.B. and Que. to Ont. and s. Man., s. to Va., La., and Tex. Var. depressa (Nutt.) Engelm. (Q. mandanensis), a shrub to 5 m, with acorns of minimal size that have a relatively short marginal fringe, occurs on dry uplands and bluffs from w. Minn. and Io. to Sask., Mont., and Wyo.

It is a temperate plant. It grows best in deep, rich soils but will also grow on upland limestone soils. It is drought tolerant. It can tolerate some shade. It suits hardiness zones 4-9. Hobart Botanical Gardens. Kyneton Botanical Gardens.

The acorns are leached using gelatine to remove the bitterness. The acorns are used in breads, muffins, soups and dumplings.

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.