![]() ![]() Northern red oak generally first bears fruits at 20-25 years but doesn’t produce acorns in abundance until 40-50 years. The acorn requires two growing seasons to reach maturity. The tree produces a 0.75 to 1.5-inch acorn with a flat, thick cap that covers about 1/4 of the nut. The leaves alternate with 7 to 11 bristle-tipped lobes. Yellow-green, cylindrical, male flowers in spring and small, green, female spikes mature. The shallow furrows form a pattern resembling ski tracts. The bark is smooth on young trees but as it ages, wide, flat-topped ridges and shallow furrows develop. Once established, they are drought, dry soil, black walnut, and air pollution tolerant. The northern red oak prefers full sun, moist to dry, well-drained, acidic, fertile, sandy to loamy soils. The genus name, Quercus, is the Latin name for oak trees. It commonly grows on mesic slopes and well-drained uplands, lower and middle slopes, coves, ravines, or valley floors. The northern red oak is native to Eastern North America and is found throughout the Piedmont and mountain areas of North Carolina. This tree is a member of the Fagaceae or beech family. ![]() The fruits are acorns that are rounded and large. Inconspicuous male and female flowers appear in the spring, and the fruits appear in the fall. They have 7 to 11 pointed lobes that are sharply pointed at the tips. It has green leaves on the upper sides and the undersides are grayish-white. It may grow 50 to 75 feet tall and equally as wide. Northern Red Oak is a medium-sized, moderate to fast-growing, deciduous tree with a rounded to broad spreading crown that branches close to the ground. Northern Red Oak: Peter Dziuk, minnesotawildflowers.Phonetic Spelling KWER-kus RU-bra This plant has low severity poison characteristics. Davis Sydnor, The Ohio State University, Southern Red Oak: Mike Hogan, Black Oak: Paul Wray, Water Oak: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Swamp Chestnut Oak: Vern Wilkins, Indiana University, Post Oak: Vern Wilkins, Indiana University, White Oak: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Fresh cut red oak smells somewhat like dog feces, so don’t pack it into your basement for curing. Red oak wood has open pores, making it less durable than white oak, though it, too, is used for woodworking. White oak wood has a somewhat pleasing odor when cut. White oak wood is desirable for furniture-making because most of the pores in the wood are closed, which makes the wood very hard. The inner surface of acorns is lined with wooly hairs. You have to grind them up into mush, and leech them in water (changing the water several times) to remove the very bitter taste and make them palatable. Red oak acorns are produced every other year. The inner surface of the acorn shell is smooth. They can be ground into flour, out of which bread can be made. The Eastern white oaks have the best acorns. They have little tannin (an acid used in the production of leather and ink), making them not as bitter as others. ![]() White oak acorns are produced every year, providing lots of food for wildlife and probably more cleanup for you. Red oak leaves have pointed tips (except water oaks, which have rounded leaves). White oak leaves have rounded tips (lobes). Here is a comparison of the key features of trees in the two oak families.ĭistribution: White oaks are found throughout the northern hemisphere worldwide red oaks are found only in North America. The many differences between them are important, especially if you have them growing in your yard. There are two big families of oaks: white oaks and red oaks. Both of these can be considered "annoyances," as people can slip and fall on acorns, and the catkins often get stuck and clog up gutters. Quercus is the classical Latin name for oaks it is believed to be from Celtic, meaning "fine" and "tree."Īcorns are the seeds of oak trees the flowers are called catkins, or tassels. Click on the name of the tree below the image to see details for that species.Īll oak trees are in the genus Quercus. ![]()
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