This taxon is poorly understood; mapping here is provisional and incomplete. As indicated by Ladd & Thomas (2015), the correct name could be changed from var. schneckii (which may be synonymous with true Q. texana) to var. acerifolia E.J. Palmer (but based on plants with extremely reduced leaves in Ark.). Morphometric analysis from Arkansas and adjacent states has indicated some continuous variation between acerifolia and shumardii, but with two main clusters (Hess & Stoynoff 1998). Var. schneckii was initially reported to have a more interior western range than typical shumardii (Sargent 1905, 1926). Most Ky. records come from hills around the Bluegrass region and adjacent to the Pennyrhile Karst Plain. Differences in habitat remain unclear; records of var. schneckii may be concentrated on seasonally dry uplands, and var. shumardii on damper soils (see also W), but B reported an opposite trend (perhaps thinking of Q. texana). Distinction of "var. schneckii" has been based primarily on its somewhat smaller acorns, with nuts averaging ca. 15 mm long and wide (versus ca. 20 mm), and with ca. 1/3 covered by the cups. Typical shumardii is usually more like typical rubra in its acorns, with only ca. 1/4 or slightly more covered by the cups. "Var. schneckii" may also have generally smaller leaves on mature branches, the blades mostly 7-12 cm long (versus 12-20 cm) with only 5 lobes (versus 5-9), and smaller buds. The state champion is reported from POWE (FDF 2020) but should be checked for identification: dbh 247 cm, height 41 m, width 32 m.