Planted For "A Gift For The Community"
Given By An Anonymous Donor
August 2, 2005

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The White Oak is one of the most handsome Oaks and is a long-lived, durable tree. It is unique in that its foliage is greenish-blue in color and has deep, rounded, finger-like lobes. The "White Oak group" includes all oaks without bristle-tipped lobes and bearing acorns that ripen in one season. The White Oak is also a desirable lumber source for building furniture, flooring, boats, wine and whiskey casks. In fact, the USS Constitution vessel, "Old Ironsides", was made from White Oak lumber.

Bark: Light ashy gray, often broken into small, vertically arranged blocks and scales. Sometimes can be smooth and gray in spots; this is caused by a fungus.

Foliage: Alternate, simple, obovate. The leaves are 4 - 8 1/2 inches long and about one half as wide with 5 - 9 lobes. Grayish and pink when unfolding changing to a dark green in summer and to a brown or wine red in the fall.

Flowers: Monoecious. Yellow staminate flowers appear first as 2 - 3 inch catkins. Reddish flowers borne singly or in pairs on short stalks appear 5 - 10 days later.

Fruit: Acorn, 3/4 - 1 inch long, enclosed for 1/3 - 1/4 of its length in a light chestnut brown, bowl-like cap with bumpy scales. The acorn ripens the first year. Acorns begin producing when the tree is around 20 years old and provide large crops every 4 - 10 years.

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More Information

Tree ID Number:	1184
Scientific Name:	Quercus alba
Mature Height:	50 - 80 feet
Canopy Spread (Diameter):	50 - 80 feet
Branching Shape:	Pyramidal when young; upright-rounded with wide spreading branches at maturity
Growth Rate:	Slow to medium
Wood Strength:	Very strong. Highly valuable lumber.
Cold Hardiness Zone:	3b - 9
Soil Moisture Requirements:	Moist
Light Requirements:	Sun
Common Pests:	Anthracnose, bacterial leaf scorch, twig blight, wilt, wood decay, gall, canker, leaf blister, leaf spot, powdery mildew, rust, caterpillar, pin oak sawfly, oak skeletonizer, weevil, borer, leaf miner, oak lace bug, and oak mite.
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