With Thanksgiving later this week, ArborNote’s Tree of the Week is the Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis). The Turkey Oak is a small tree, sometimes shrubby, typically only 26–33 feet tall, though it occasionally reaches 92 ft. Turkey oak occurs on the coastal plain from Virginia south to southwestern Florida, and west to southeast Louisiana. It typically grows on poor, thin, dry, rocky or sandy soils where few other oaks can thrive. The name turkey oak derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey’s foot and those leaves turn a beautiful red color in the fall.