Which tree is this?

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 Rog Wilko 13 Nov 2021

Walking through a bit of local broadleaf woodland I noticed a lot of unfamiliar leaves lying on the ground, but couldn't see the tree which had shed them. The leaf is slightly reminiscent of an oak but much larger. Anyone identify it?


 Moacs 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Red oak

 Rob 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Looks like Quercus rubra, the Northern Red Oak. 

OP Rog Wilko 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Rob:

Are the leaves really that big?

 Doug 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Its from the States, so yes, they are very big

edit to add - widely planted in the UK & France, and probably elsewhere

Post edited at 16:27
 Bob Kemp 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Red and Black oaks can both have very large leaves. I’m wondering if it’s a Black oak, because red oak autumn colour is very red and this one is more of a brown. 

 flatlandrich 13 Nov 2021
In reply to Bob Kemp:

Autumn colours have been generally pretty poor this year (at least in my area) and all the red oaks I know of  have been that brownish colour. I'd say Red oak.  

In reply to Rog Wilko:

> Are the leaves really that big?

Yes, they are...

Saw a young kid carrying three leaves from a Catalpa yesterday. There were also some big London Plane leaves.

OP Rog Wilko 14 Nov 2021
In reply to Moacs:

Well, I’ve learnt something there. Just googled it and there’s not much doubt. But it isn’t a native, I see it comes from N America. How it came to be in a scruffy little bit of woodland nobody seems to do anything with, I have no idea. I haven’t found a picture of the bark yet, so still haven’t found the actual tree.

OP Rog Wilko 14 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Now I have. Not totally dissimilar to our Quercus robur.

 mbh 14 Nov 2021
In reply to Rog Wilko:

Mitchell's Field Guide to Trees of Britain and Northern Europe describes the bark as

Smooth, silvery grey, sometimes with a few large warts; old trees variable: some silvery grey with a few fissures, some brown-grey, some shallowly fissured into small rough plates.

It also says that the autumn leaves of older trees can be cigar-brown all over, or deep red, or sometimes yellow and brown on each leaf. The leaves of young trees, it says, usually go a deep red, so you are most likely looking for an older tree.

Post edited at 10:57
OP Rog Wilko 14 Nov 2021
In reply to mbh:

Thanks to all.


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