Medium-size tree with a somewhat ragged, irregular, flat-topped spherical crown. The young twigs are olive green, slightly reddish on the sunny side and later grey. The old bark is dark grey to almost black and smooth to slightly grooved. On older trees the bark has block-shaped grooves. The very strikingly shaped leaves are obovate to inverted triangular. The top is 3-lobed and the margins are smooth to shallow-lobed on the upper half. In summer the leaf is glossy dark green turning yellow-brown to yellow in autumn. The ovoid acorns are 1 to 2 cm long and semi-enclosed by the cupule. The cupule is covered with short, hairy scales and the upper edge is typically rolled inwards. A striking park tree, especially thanks to the characteristically shaped leaf. Grows naturally on the most infertile soils and so remains more shrub-shaped. Tolerates warmth well.