Scientific Name:
Quercus alba
Pronunciation:
KWURK-us AL-buh
Common Name:
white oak
Family Name:
Fagaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves variable but most with 7 to 9 deep rounded lobes with sinus usually less than half way to midrib, most blades 14-20cm long x 9-14cm wide, emerge pinkish and pubescent, maturing to dark green and glabrous, mostly obovate, petioles 1-2cm long; acorns oval, about 2cm long. Winter ID: whitish to ash-gray bark; twigs and buds reddish-brown, glabrous; multiple terminal buds, most ovoid, 2-7mm long; leaf scars mostly half-round, bundle scars scattered, indistinct.
Habit:
Irregular, Open, Spreading, Twiggy, Upright
Form:
Pyramidal - widely, Round
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
22 - 30m
Mature Spread:
15 - 25m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
Canada - central, Canada - eastern, U.S. - central, U.S. - northeast
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry
Water Use:
Low, Summer dry
Landscape Uses:
Herb, Shade tree, Street (boulevard tree), Wildlife food, Wind break
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Lobed
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Leathery, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Lustrous, Tomentose
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Orange, Red, Brown
Shapes:
Oblong, Obovate
Apices:
Rounded
Bases:
Cuneate
Margins:
Pinnately lobed
Inflorescence Type:
Catkin (ament)
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
0
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Not showy, Yellow, Green-yellow, Red (male florets yellow-green; female florets reddish-green)
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Additional Info:
Male florets in slender catkins, 5-10cm long
Fruit Type:
Nut
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Showy,
Bark Morphology:
Showy, Deeply fissured
Bark or Stem Colour:
White, Grey
Leaf Bud Type:
Ovoid, Rounded or globular
Leaf Scar Shape:
Half-round
Organ Modifications:
Ectomycorrhizae
Propagation:
Seed
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Caterpillar or cutworm, Heteroptera - true bugs, Leaf miner insect, Root rot, Rust, Scale insects, Wilt (Drought tolerant)
