White Oak

This beautiful tree can be found presiding over pastures, providing shade in urban parks and suburban neighborhoods and thriving in natural stands throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.A mature white oak can have a trunk four feet wide and soar to a height of 100 feet. The 5-9 lobed leaves, green on top and whitish on the bottom, usually show brilliant red in the fall.  Before acorns develop, the tree produces two types of flowers: male flowers are greenish yellow and female flowers form reddish spikes. The tree’s bark is light gray.Acorns are eaten by squirrels, blue jays, crows, red-headed woodpeckers, deer, turkey, quail, mice, chipmunks, ducks and raccoons. White oak’s wood is strong and durable for barrels, lumber, flooring, and interior woodwork. It is an excellent ornamental tree because of its broad round crown, dense foliage, and purplish-red to violet purple fall color.