A few photos from Bethel Acres in Central Oklahoma during. the Spring of 2025.

The first focuses on the long needles and early cones before they’ve matured. According to an Audubon Society Field Guide published in 1980, this species is native only to the Southeastern tip of Oklahoma. The Wildflower Center’s Native Plants database page, updated in 2022, repeats this information. The location where this photo was taken, of a tree distributed without human intervention, shows the effects of global warming in the extension of its range northward. (Assuming the species is identified correctly.)

 

Next is what appears to be a Post Oak, with a three lobed leaf shape. The leaves are about 5 to 8 inches long, but shape and size are highly variable.

Finally, here’s a Blackjack Oak, which has much larger catkins than the Post Oak. The two different species are known to hybridize easily. Perhaps we will post some photos in the future. Observed what appeared to be a Post and a Blackjack oak, growing next to each other, and each showing leaves resembling the “template” form for both pf the species. The typical Blackjack Oak leaf has a “duck foot” shape, almost triangular, without any deep indents. The Post Oak, on the other hand, has a “head” lobe with two deep indents above and below what look like “arms,” tapering a little into the form of a (vaguely) human body.

But that’s a task for another day.