Native Plant Database

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Tree
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Size Class: 36-72 ft.
Size Notes: 40-100 feet tall.
Leaf Color: Green
Autumn Foliage: yes
Fruit Color: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Apr

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , CT , DE , IL , IN , IA , KS , KY , LA , ME , MD , MA , MI , MN , MS , MO , MT , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NY , ND , OH , OK , PA , RI , SD , TN , TX , VT , VA , WV , WI , WY , DC
Canada: AB , MB , NB , ON , QC , SK
Native Distribution: N.S. to s. Sask. & s.e. MT, s. to AL & TX
Native Habitat: Prairies; open woods; sandy ridges; stream edges.
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet , Moist , Dry
Soil pH: Acidic (pH<6.8)
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Cold Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Various soils & moisture conditions. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Caliche type, Limestone-based
Conditions Comments: The species name macrocarpa, refers to the golf ball sized acorns of this tree. The leaves of bur oak also are large, so they are easy to rake. Bur oak is drought resistant, long-lived and reasonably fast-growing for an oak. Tolerates limey soils better than other oaks. Resistant to oak wilt and a number of other problems. Sensitive to root zone disturbance caused by construction.
Texas comments: Bur oak has large leaves and golf-ball size acorns. It is drought resistant, long-lived and reasonably fast-growing for an oak. It also tolerates limey soils better than other oaks.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Shade tree, Attractive, Fast growing, Long-living. A good urban tree since it is resistant to air pollution and car exhaust.
Use Wildlife: Attracts songbirds, ground birds and mammals. Substrate-insectivorous birds, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals, Fruit-rodents, Fruit-deer.
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. Finely chopped acorn meats can be added to bread doughs and muffin batters. After the leaching process, acorn meat can be frozen. To make flour, the boiled acorn meat can be split in two and dried by slowly baking in a 200 degree oven with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape. Crush or grind and use as a thickener or a flour. Another method is to roast the fresh acorn to work well in a grinder or blender. After grinding, place the flour into a cloth bag and boil to leach out bitterness. Leached acorns, after they are roasted until brittle, can be ground and used as a marginal coffee substitute.
Warning: Acorns (seeds of nuts) and young leaves have low toxicity if eaten. Symptoms include stomach pain, constipation and later bloody diarrhea, excessive thirst and urination.
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Edwards Hairstreak, Horaces Duskywing butterfly
Deer Resistant: None

Propagation

Description: Oaks are most often propagated from seed. No pretreatment is necessary. Plant immediately – outdoors or in deep containers to accomodate long initial taproot. The acorns sprout without a dormancy period and begin to germinate as soon as they fall from
Seed Collection: Best quality acorns are picked or shaken from the tree. Collect when color has changed to brown. Best if sown immediately as acorns lose viability quickly in storage. Short-term storage in moist, shaded saw dust or sand. Acorns to be sown immediately can be soaked in hot water for 15 min. to prevent weevil infestation. Stored seed should be fumigated with methyl bromide.
Seed Treatment: 30-60 days at 41 degrees may be beneficial.
Commercially Avail: yes

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View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Question: We recently added a deck in our backyard which faces west, we live in Circle C (southwest Austin). The afternoon sun is intense so we're looking to plant something along our fence line to provide shade and privacy. We want something quick growing that will grow tall (20 or so feet) but not wide, since we don't want it to take up valuable yard space, maybe a tree? Also, can you recommend a flowering vine that can grow from the ground and climb to cover our brick patio columns. I'd love something fragrant, but nothing poisonous or that would attract bees.
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Question: Which are the best eco friendly tree for parks?
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Question: We live in Kempner Texas, our land has mostly cedar trees. We would like to make a wildlife habitat on the back side of our property. Can you recommend plants that will grow in shade to partial sun, compatible with cedar and wildlife friendly? Also we want a good shade tree for our front.
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Question: I'm looking for a tree for a cemetery plot in Karnes County at Pana Maria. There will be someone to regularly water it. I understand live oak and pecan are native to the area. I assume these would be good trees. But are there any other nice trees that would do well in the area based on size, longevity, looks or appropriateness for a cemetery?
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Question: What are your suggestions for a fast growing native tree that will do well in the clay soils of North Central Austin? I just had a 30 foot hackberry tree fall and would like to restore some shade to my backyard. I am not able to dig a very large hole to plant the tree, so would like to find a tree that either grows fast or has a smaller root ball so I can plant it. Would also like one that provides good shade without killing St. Augustine grass under the canopy.
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From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX

Bibliography

Dale Groom's Texas Gardening Guide (2002) Groom, D.
Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, S.
Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Native & Naturalized Woody Plants of Austin & the Hill Country (1981) Lynch, D.
* Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Trees of Central Texas (1984) Vines, Robert A.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Quercus macrocarpa in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Quercus macrocarpa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Quercus macrocarpa