Silver Oak

Reaching a height of 75 feet or more with a 25-foot spread, Silver Oak is pyramidal to oval in shape, eventually developing a few heavy horizontal limbs and a thick trunk. It is a fast growing evergreen tree, between 18-35 m tall with dark green delicately dented bipinnatifid leaves reminiscent of a fern frond. These leaves are generally 15-30 cm long with silvery undersides. Its flowers are golden-orange bottlebrush-like blooms, between 8-15 cm long, in the spring, on a 2-3 cm long stem. A great quantity of leaves fall in the spring immediately preceding the emergence of new growth and leaves also fall sporadically throughout the year, creating quite a litter problem to some people. Black, leathery seed capsules follow the flowers. Bark is fissured, sometimes pustulate, dark grey to dark brown. Crown is conical and dense, with branches projecting upward. Leaves are alternate, fernlike, pinnate, 11 to 21 pairs of pinnae, 4 to 9 centimeters long, and dark green. Leaflets are lanceolate, with entire or lobed margins. The flowers are yellow to orange, numerous, paired, on long slender stalks 1 to 2 centimeters, with 4 narrow yellow or orange sepals 12 millimeters long. Fruits are podlike, broad, slightly flattened, 2 centimeters long, black, with 1 to 2 seeds, 10 to 13 millimeters long.