Flowers:
Red;green (Female flowers appear in single spikes in the spring; not ornamentally important;male flowers borne in naked catkins (2-4" long) in the spring; not ornamentally important)
Foliage:
Green (Summer); Yellow (Orange-yellow to yellow-brown fall color, occasionally with a hint of red)
Fruit:
Brown (Rich dark brown acorns in September to October)
Soil:
Widely adapted to a range of soil types, including poor dry soils; dislikes poor drainage
Range:
Appalachian region of the United States
Diagnostic Characteristics:
The leaf width is greatest in the middle; the upper leaf surface is glabrous, the lower surface may be pubescent. Leaves have 10-14 regular, rounded teeth. Buds are red-brown, imbricate, and covered in a fine pubescence. Fruit is a 1-1.3" acorn that occurs singly or in pairs; it is sweet tasting and particularly relished by wildlife. The corky bark is deeply ridged, brown to black, and where it separates, a bright orange color is present. Compared to Q. muehlenbergii, the leaf margins of Q. montana have much more rounded teeth, and the bark is much darker brown to black.
