Mature Size: 80 to 100 feet in height, 3 to 4 feet in diameter
Form: Tall, clear, sometimes stocky trunk and rounded, spreading crown
Habitat: Grows on a wide variety of upland sites; grows best on deep, well-drained, loamy soils
Leaves: Alternate, simple, 4 to 7 inches long, 7 to 10 rounded lobes; depth of the sinuses between lobes varies from shallow to almost reaching the midrib; leaf base is wedge-shaped where it joins the leaf stem
Flowers: Males are yellowish-green with slender 2- to 4-inch hanging catkins; females are reddish-green in very small single spikes; both appear along with the leaves
Fruit: Egg-shaped to oblong acorn, ¾ inch long, and light chestnut brown when ripe; cap is warty and bowl-shaped, covering one-quarter of the acorn and detaching at maturity; maturing in one season Bark: Light ash gray, covered with loose scales or broad plates
Twigs: Reddish-brown to somewhat gray or purplish, hairless, and often shiny; end bud is clustered, reddish-brown, small, rounded, and hairless
Values and Uses: The wood is light brown, heavy, strong, hard, close-grained, and durable. It is used for lumber, barrels, furniture, tools, interior finish, flooring and fuel. The acorns are sweet and preferred food of deer, bear, turkeys, squirrels and other wildlife. White oak makes an impressive ornamental tree for large landscapes.
Did You Know? Vessels in the wood are plugged with a substance called tyloses, making it highly water-tight. This trait has made the wood valuable for whiskey and wine barrels, and in earlier days, for shipbuilding.
