The Swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor, is one of the more important white oaks for lumber production. It is a tree of wetlands, as its name implies, but grows farther north than the other wetland white oaks (Swamp chestnut oak, Overcup oak). It is not a large tree, typically growing to 20-25m tall, with the tallest known reaching 29m.

The leaves are always more or less glaucous on the back, and the leaves are shallowly lobed/coarsely toothed, intermediate between the Chestnut oak and the White oak. The bark resembles the White oak.