Common Oak vs Scarlet Oak

Quercus robur compared with Quercus coccinea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Oak	Scarlet Oak
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)
Family same	Fagaceae (Beech Family)	Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Genus same	Quercus (Oaks)	Quercus (Oaks)
Species	Quercus robur	Quercus coccinea

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Oak and Scarlet Oak share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Quercus. (Oaks)

Conservation Status

Common Oak

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Scarlet Oak

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Oak	Scarlet Oak
Diet	Autotroph	—
Average Lifespan	1000 years	—
Average Length	25.0 m	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Oak

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Lesotho, South Africa), Asia (Armenia, India), Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (4 countries).

Scarlet Oak

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Brazil and United States.

Common Oak

One of Europe's most important and widespread deciduous trees, the pedunculate oak can live over 1,000 years, reach 40 meters, and support the greatest biodiversity of any European tree species — over 2,300 species of insects, fungi, lichens, mosses, and birds directly depend on mature oaks. Found across Europe to western Asia in temperate forests, its hard, durable wood has been foundational to shipbuilding, architecture, and barrel making throughout history.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇺🇸 United States