White Oak

The White Oak tree, Quercus alba, grows to a height of 75 feet at maturity and often has lateral branching as wide as the tree is high, making an excellent protective cover for wildlife. White Oaks show off beautiful shades of red in both the Spring and Fall. New leaves are a light, fuzzy pink while Fall leaves are deep red to purple. White Oak lumber is very valuable, because it is water resistant, making it the wood of choice for outdoor construction and barrel manufacturing. The White Oak Tree, Quercus alba, is one of the largest Oak trees in native forests and is prized as the State tree in Illinois, Connecticut, and Maryland.

• A large 84 ft tall and 4 feet in diameter White Oak Tree has been indexed in the Oak forests of Ohio, and the White Oak Tree has a life span of hundreds of years and appears to be very resistant to insect and disease problems. The acorns of the White Oak Tree are eaten by deer, game birds, and many other wildlife animals.

• The early American Indians made a variety of recipes from the White Oak acorns. The white bark of the White Oak Tree is very attractive growing as a landscape specimen tree, and the fine grained, inner wood of the White Oak Tree is choice for oak hardwood floors and for furniture manufacturing. The White Oak Trees grow best on well drained soils and are widely adapted as a native forest tree throughout the United States, and is the most commonly occurring Oak tree in American forests. The White Oak Tree is salt water tolerant and forms a very long tap root, even in the juvenile stage of growth.