The Black Oak is a member of the red oak group. The tree is large (75 feet) with a bole diameter of three feet or more. The trunk is dark with blocky bark and an orangy inner bark. Leaves are five to ten inches long with relatively thick lobes, shiny on top and only slightly hairy underneath. The acorns are an inch long with bowl-shaped caps which have fine hairs. The buds are three-eighths inch in length and with gray hairs. The twigs are hairless.

The growing region is from Texas to Maine. It needs full sun to grow to full size. Oak is a hardwood providing a major portion of the annual lumber in the United States. The black wood is used for decorative furniture and Indians used it for carving. Oak trees are generally slow-growing and long-lived and tend to be relatively resistant to diseases and insects. Tannin and dye are major produce from the bark. The acorn is yellow inside and very bitter.