Quercus palustris Münchh.

Deciduous tree to 20 (–25) m high. Bark grey-brown, fissured. Leaves: lamina ± elliptic to oblong in outline and irregularly deeply lobed (with different sized sharply angular lobes and obtuse to rounded sinuses; the c. middle lobes the longest where the leaf is also usually the widest), mostly 9–14 (–17.5) cm long, 9–15 (–18) cm wide, the margin with 5–7 (–9) pointed (acute to attenuate) main lobes with an apical innocuous bristle (awn) to 6 (–7) mm long (these lobes often with variably sized secondary pointed lobes and/or teeth terminating in a bristle; leaves with 10–30 bristles, fide Nixon 1997), cuneate (to ± truncate) and often asymmetric at base, thin-textured (papery), ± shiny and darker green above, colouring bronze to reddish in autumn, glabrous except for underside tuffs of fawn stellate hairs in occasional vein axils where secondary (lateral) veins join midrib and occasionally in some axils between secondary and tertiary veins; petiole mostly 2–6.5 cm long, glabrous. Acorns solitary or 2 (3) clustered, stalkless or shortly stalked, ± hemispherical to broad-ovoid or globose, often ± flattened (e.g. depressed-globular), c. 1–1.5 cm long, often conspicuously striate; cupule saucer-like, c. one-quarter to one-third as long as acorn, scale tips tightly appressed, acute to obtuse.

It is a temperate plant. It is native to S.E. Canada and E. United States. They are frost hardy. It normally grows on poorly drained soils, in swamps and along streams. It is intolerant of shade. It does not suit chalky soils. It suits hardiness zones 3-10. In Melbourne Botanical Gardens. Hobart Botanical Gardens. Arboretum Tasmania.

The nut or acorn is bitter with tannin. It is occasionally eaten after leaching. The wood is used for smoke flavouring during barbecue cooking.

Plants are grown from seed.