Quercus laevis (species)

Species of small, slow-growing deciduous shrubby tree native to the dry, sandy areas of the southeastern United States, on the coastal plain from Delaware to Florida and Louisiana. It reaches 10 meters in height, has deeply incised leaves with 3-7 slender lobes, and acorns that take 18 months to mature. It hybridizes easily with southern red oak (Q. falcata), bluejack oak (Q. incana), laurel oak (Q. laurifolia), and water oak (Q. nigra). Its name "turkey oak" is derived either from the turkey-footprint shape of its leaves or from the fact that wild turkeys eat the acorns.