FEATURED NATIVE TREE • WHITE OAK

FEATURED NATIVE TREE: Quercus alba, white oak

The white oak is a popular and long-lived shade tree which grows to 100 feet, with a wide-spreading rounded crown and with numerous horizontal branches. Its bark is light gray with shallow furrows forming scaly ridges or plates. The leaves are light green and smooth, with a lighter underside, turning red in the fall. The wood is used for furniture, flooring, and specialty items such as wine and whiskey barrels. In colonial times, the wood was used for shipbuilding. Acorns are a favorite food source for birds, squirrels, and deer. 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. For additional information on growing conditions and habitat, click the button below.

WILDFLOWER.ORG – PLANTS OF CHESAPEAKE BAY • WHITE OAK