White Oak
Scientific Name: Quercus alba
— pronounced KWER-kus AL-ba
— Quercus, Latin for oak; alba, Latin for white, referring to the color of the bark
Beech Family (Fagaceae): includes beeches (surprise!) and chestnuts
Other Common Names: Eastern White Oak, Stave Oak, Forked-leaf White Oak
— pronounced KWER-kus AL-ba
— Quercus, Latin for oak; alba, Latin for white, referring to the color of the bark
Beech Family (Fagaceae): includes beeches (surprise!) and chestnuts
Other Common Names: Eastern White Oak, Stave Oak, Forked-leaf White Oak
All photos by Peter M. Dziuk
The White Oak’s bark is light ashy gray, with shallow furrows that form scaly ridges or plates (you may need to look up the trunk to see these plates!)
The leaves are 4 to 7 inches long, with 7 to 10 rounded lobes (no points or bristles) and sinuses that vary from deep to shallow. They are blue-green above and whitish below.
The acorn is oblong, with a warty bowl-shaped cap covering 1/4 of the fruit. It develops in one growing season, turning from green to brown. The tree can produce prolifically but has a big crop only every 4 to 10 years.
The White Oak’s bark is light ashy gray, with shallow furrows that form scaly ridges or plates (you may need to look up the trunk to see these plates!)
The leaves are 4 to 7 inches long, with 7 to 10 rounded lobes (no points or bristles) and sinuses that vary from deep to shallow. They are blue-green above and whitish below.
The acorn is oblong, with a warty bowl-shaped cap covering 1/4 of the fruit. It develops in one growing season, turning from green to brown. The tree can produce prolifically but has a big crop only every 4 to 10 years.
More photos & ID help: VA Tech dendrology and Minnesota Wildflowers
This species is found in a wide variety of forest types, including uplands, bottomlands, dry slopes, and areas along streams, but absent from poorly-drained and very wet sites and from ridge tops with shallow soil. Typically found in dry to moderately moist sites. Grows best in deep, loamy soils, but adapts to a range of soil types and is also commonly found on rocky soils. Eastern White Oaks are found throughout the Preserve.
Interesting Facts:
This species is found in a wide variety of forest types, including uplands, bottomlands, dry slopes, and areas along streams, but absent from poorly-drained and very wet sites and from ridge tops with shallow soil. Typically found in dry to moderately moist sites. Grows best in deep, loamy soils, but adapts to a range of soil types and is also commonly found on rocky soils. Eastern White Oaks are found throughout the Preserve.
Interesting Facts:
- White Oak seedlings can persist under a closed forest canopy as long as 90 years. The above-ground parts die back in the absence of sufficient light, while the root system continues to develop. A White Oak may live up to 500 years.
- Trees typically begin producing seed at around 50 years of age. The acorns germinate shortly after falling. They need to be buried by animals or covered by leaf litter to survive.
- The White Oak is host to over 500 species of butterfly and moth larvae, which in turn supply food for songbirds, most of whom feed their young a high-protein diet. And, across its range, its acorns supply food for more than 100 vertebrate species.
- Each year, all trees grow vessels just under the bark, which conduct water and nutrients upward from the roots; the White Oak, exceptionally, each year develops balloon-like swellings called tyloses in the previous year’s vessels, blocking them and perhaps thus impeding the invasion of fungal and viral pathogens. White Oaks are less susceptible to disease than most other oaks, which develop tyloses only sporadically.