Habitat

• native to eastern and central United States
• zone 5

Habit and Form

• a large, deciduous tree
• 60 to 80' tall
• 40' to 50' wide
• pyramidal when young
• rounded, oval-rounded when mature
• coarse texture
• rapid growth rate

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• leaves are 4" to 8" long
• pointed lobes
• 7 lobes per leaf, sometimes 9
• deep sinuses
• leathery leaf texture
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• orange to red fall color
• showy

Flowers

• monoecious
• male flowers are pendulous yellow-green catkins
• blooms in May
• messy

Fruit

• acorn
• up to 1" long
• involucre just barely covers acorn tip
• acorn is striated with black and brown lines
• fruit can be numerous

Bark

• gray-brown glabrous stems
• older stems have a onion-like sheath

Culture

• full sun
• prefers moist, well-drained soil
• easily transplanted for an oak
• drought tolerant
• urban tolerant
• pH adaptable

Landscape Use

• shade tree
• for large area
• for fall color
• specimen
• buffer strip
• long-lived and desirable

Liabilities

• oak wilt will kill tree
• mites
• root rot
• scale, borers, brown felt fungus
• acorns can be a litter problem

ID Features

• leaves with 7 pointed lobes
• buds are imbricate and ovoid and gray in color
• buds scales appear waxed
• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple leaves
• acorn in barely covered with involucre

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

• none