The Cherrybark Oak is a member of the red oak group and a variety of Southern Red Oak. The tree is large (75 feet) with a bole diameter of three feet or more. The trunk is dark and somewhat furrowed. Leaves are five to twelve inches long with five to eleven lobes and hairy underneath. They are considerably wider than the common Southern Red Oak. The acorns are less than an inch long with saucer-shaped caps which have fine gray hairs. The buds are three-eighths inch in length, pointy and with gray hairs.

The growing region is from Texas to Virginia. Oak is a hardwood providing a major portion of the annual lumber in the United States. Oak trees are generally slow-growing and long-lived and tend to be relatively resistant to diseases and insects. Tannin is a major produce from oak bark.