Vick, Albert F. W.
Quercus alba L.
White oak, Northern white oak, Stave Oak, Ridge White Oak, Forked-leaf White Oak
Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Popular and long-lived shade
tree, which grows to 100 feet (30.5 m), with a widespreading rounded crown and with numerous horizontal branches.
Bark light gray, shallow furrows forming scaly ridges or plates. Twigs slender to stout, gray to reddish-green twigs with star-shaped pith; buds are reddish-brown and broadly
oval and hairless. Leaves
petiole 3?8 - 1 inch (10 - 25 mm) in length;
obovate to elliptical leaves, 4 - 8 inches (101 - 203 mm) long, 2 3/4 - 4 3/4 inches (70 - 121 mm) wide, margin with 5 - 9 lobes that are widest beyond middle, deep sinuses extending a third or more to midrib; base
acute to
cuneate, apex broadly rounded; dull or shiny grayish green above, light green with slight pubescence which becomes smooth beneath as they mature.
The classic eastern oak, with widespreading branches and a rounded crown, the trunk irregularly divided into spreading, often horizontal, stout branches. Northern white oak is an imposing,
deciduous tree, 80-100 ft. tall, with a straight trunk and a wide (when open-grown) crown. Large, coarse, horizontal limbs are picturesque. Catkins appear just before or with the appearance of new leaves. The round-lobed leaves turn burgundy in fall. Dried leaves remain into winter.
White oak is one of the most important species in the white oak group. The wood is used for furniture, flooring, and spe- cialty items such as wine and whiskey barrels. Used for shipbuilding in colonial times. Continues to be displaced in the market place by several species of red oaks. Acorns are a favorite food source for birds, squirrels, and deer. Used as medication by Native Americans. The largest known white oak specimen had a circumference of 32 feet and grew in the Wye Oak State Park, Talbot County, Maryland. It was destroyed during a storm on June 6, 2002.
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Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial Habit: Tree Leaf Retention: Deciduous Leaf Arrangement: Alternate Leaf Complexity: Simple Leaf Shape: Elliptic ,
Obovate Leaf Venation: Pinnate Leaf Margin: Lobed
Leaf Base: Cuneate Breeding System: Flowers
Unisexual ,
Monoecious Inflorescence: Catkin Fruit Type: Nut Size Notes: Height to 100+ ft. Width 60 to 80 ft.
Leaf: Green to blue-green above and whitish below.
Autumn Foliage: yes
Flower: Male catkins 2-4 inches long; female flowers small single spikes.
Fruit: Acorns annual; 1 - 3 acorns on
peduncle up to 1 1/4 inch (32 mm) long, light gray
pubescent cup, enclosing 1/4 of the nut; light brown,
oblong nut, up to 1 inch (25 mm) long; germinates in the fall after dropping to the ground.
Size Class: 72-100 ft.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: Red , Yellow , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May
Bloom Notes: Male flowers are yellow-green, female flowers are reddish green.
Distribution
USA: AL , AR , CT , DE , FL , GA , IL , IN , IA , KS , KY , LA , ME , MD , MA , MI , MN , MS , MO , NE , NH , NJ , NY , NC , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , TN , TX , VT , VA , WV , WI , DC
Canada: ON ,
QC Native Distribution: Eastern Canada and the United States from Quebec and Ontario west to Minnesota, south to Texas, east to Florida, and north to Maine.
Native Habitat: Mesic to dry woods; warm, southwest slopes; rocky hillsides. Dry upland slopes to welldrained loam in bottomlands; may grow as a
shrub at 4,500 feet (1,372 m) elevation in the southern Appalachian Mountains and reaches maximum potential height on lower slopes of the Allegheny Mountains and bottomlands of the Ohio Basin.
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N) Growing Conditions
Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist , Dry
Soil pH: Acidic (pH<6.8) , Circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.2)
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Heat Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Deep, moist, well-drained, loams & sands. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Acid-based.
Conditions Comments: In spite of a long list of troublesome pests, white oak is durable and long-lived. Do not plant in shade, areas of poor drainage, or alkaline soil. Old trees are sensitive to construction disturbance in their root zone and to planting turf around a
tree on what had been a forest duff ground cover.
Benefit
Use Ornamental: Fall conspicuous, Shade
tree Use Wildlife: Acorns are horded by birds and rodents.
Use Food: Acorns (nuts) are edible after tannins are leached or boiled out. Gather nuts during the fall from September to October. Only gather the ripe tan-to-brown acorns, rather than the unripe green ones. remove bitterness, shell the brown, ripe acorns and remove any corky skin layers, dice the meat, and boil the chunks in water from 15 to 30 minutes until the water turns brown. Then pour off the water and repeat the process until the water clears, indicating that the tannic acid has been removed. During the last boiling, salt water can be added; then the acorns can be deep fried or mixed in a soup.
Use Other: The most important lumber
tree of the white oak group, its high-grade wood is useful for all purposes. It is sometimes called Stave Oak because the wood is outstanding in making tight barrels for whiskey and other liquids. In colonial times the wood was important in shipbuilding.
Warning: Acorns (seeds of nuts) and young leaves. Low toxicity if eaten. Symptoms include stomach pain, constipation and later bloody diarrhea, excessive thirst and urination.
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies
Larval Host: Edwards Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii)
2011-09-25
