Use white oak as a shade tree for large yards or parks, or in a naturalized area for wildlife to enjoy. The acorns of white oak are edible (to humans) after tannins are leached or boiled out.
#White acorn tree plus
It supports a wide variety of butterflies and moths plus small mammals and songbirds. This is a long-lived tree is a prolific supporter of wildlife for food and habitat. The female flower produces the acorn which is initially green and ripens to a tannish brown. Both emerge shortly after the leaves in the spring. The reddish female flowers appear on short stalks about 5 to 10 days after the male flowers. The male flowers are pendulous yellowish-green chains that occur in clusters. The lobed and rounded tip leaves are green on the upper surface and glaucous beneath. The bark is light ashy gray with vertical blocks and scales. The deep taproot makes it difficult to transplant.
#White acorn tree full
The white oak prefers full sun to partial shade in coarse, deep, moist, well-drained, loamy, slightly acidic soil but is adaptable to other soil types and is fairly drought tolerant once established. The common name is a reference to the color of the finished wood, not the bark. This refers to the bark's ash-gray bark color. The genus name, Quercus, is the Latin name for oak trees. The white oak is a native to the eastern United States and is usually found in forested areas of dry slopes, valleys, and ravines. This tree is a member of the Fagaceae or beech family and is the most important lumber tree of the white oak group. The fruit is a 3/4- to 1-inch-long brown acorn with a lumpy cap. The male flowers are the showiest, and the female flowers are inconspicuous. Their fall foliage color is dark reddish to brown. The distinct feature of this tree is its fingerlike lobed leaves with rounded tips and no bristles. Young trees are typically pyramidal in form, but as the tree matures it has a rounded and broad crown.
The white oak is a large deciduous, hardwood tree is slow growing and can reach heights of 135 feet with an 80-foot spread but generally tops out at 80 to 100 feet. Phonetic Spelling KWER-kus AL-ba This plant has low severity poison characteristics.