Wood Species Guide
Overcup Oak
Quercus lyrata
Also called: Swamp Post Oak, Water White Oak, Swamp White Oak (regional), White Oak (in the lumber trade)
What Overcup Oak looks like
Light to medium brown heartwood with pale sapwood. Boards often show more color variation and mineral streaks than upland white oak.
Grain and texture
Coarse, open grain. Bottomland trees often have shake and some crooked grain, so clear wide boards are less common.
Working Overcup Oak: planing, cutting and gluing
Machines and glues like other white oaks. The wood is prone to ring shake and internal checks from drying, so inspect boards carefully and expect more waste than with commercial white oak.
Finishing Overcup Oak: oil, film finishes and epoxy
Takes stain and clear finishes well. Fill or seal any checks and shake before epoxy, and use a seal coat to stop the open pores from bubbling a pour.
Durability, stability and Florida humidity
The heartwood resists decay well, on par with other white oaks. It is harder to dry than most oaks and tends to check. In Florida, acclimate finished stock in air conditioning and seal all faces.
Shop notes from our Fort Myers shop
Overcup oak is named for the acorn cup that nearly swallows the nut, and it grows in river swamps of north Florida and the Panhandle. The lumber gets sold as white oak, but it has a reputation for shake, so pick boards with care. We don't stock it, but ask us and we can often source white oak group lumber.
Common uses for Overcup Oak
Flooring, furniture, cabinets, barrels, railroad ties and general construction.
Sustainability and CITES status
Not listed in the CITES Appendices. Common in Southern bottomland forests and not considered threatened.
Safety and toxicity
- Skin irritation
- Eye irritation
- Respiratory / asthma
- Sensitizer (allergy builds with exposure)
Oak dust often irritates eyes, skin and airways, and some people become allergic with repeated exposure. Long, heavy exposure to fine oak dust is linked to nasal cancer.
- In the shop
- Dust collection + mask or respirator when sanding; gloves if your skin reacts
- Food contact
- Use with care for cutting boards, bowls and utensils
General information, not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a reaction.
Like other oaks, the dust can irritate eyes, skin and airways, and a few people become sensitized over time. Run dust collection and wear a mask or respirator when sanding.
Overcup Oak in stock now
Ask us. We can often source it.
We don't have Overcup Oak listed online right now, but new slabs and lumber come in all the time and not everything makes it to the website. Tell us what you're building and we'll check our racks and suppliers.
Similar woods: Oaks
- Red OakIn stockQuercus rubra (lumber often includes other red oak group species) Red oak is the familiar, hard-wearing hardwood behind generations of American floors and cabinets. In slab form it...
- White OakIn stockQuercus alba (lumber often includes other white oak group species) White oak is the strong, water-resistant oak behind whiskey barrels, wooden boats and Mission furniture. Its warm golden...
- Black OakQuercus velutina Black oak is a common eastern red oak that is sold as red oak lumber. Its inner bark...
- Bur OakQuercus macrocarpa Bur oak is the big-acorn white oak of the prairie states, hard, heavy and rot resistant. Most of...
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda (formerly Quercus falcata var. pagodifolia) Cherrybark oak is the tallest, straightest and strongest of the Southern red oaks, named for bark that looks...
- Chestnut OakQuercus montana (syn. Quercus prinus) Chestnut oak is the white oak of rocky Appalachian ridges, named for leaves that look like chestnut leaves....