Quercus acerifolia (also called maple-leaf oak) is a rare North American species of oak in the red oak section of Quercus (known as Lobatae). The species was first described in 1927 from samples collected by E.J. Palmer in the Ozark Mountains. The initial documentation classified the species as Quercus shumardii var. acerifolia. The species was first perceived as a variant of Shumard oak due to its similar foliage and ranges. Over two decades later, the tree was re-evaluated by botanists Nick Alan Stoynoff and William J. Hess, who determined that it was a distinct species. Their case for reclassification was presented in the paper, "A New Status for Quercus shumardii var. acerifolia (Fagaceae)," published in the journal Sida in 1990. The reclassification was based on the tree's unique ecological and morphological characteristics including leaf shape, acorn size, and ecological niche. The species was renamed Quercus acerifolia, due to its leaf shape which resembles that of a maple tree.

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