Northern Red Oak

LEAVES: Alternate, simple, 4″-9″ long, to 6″ wide, with 7-11 bristle-tipped lobes, sinuses between lobes extend half-way to the mid-rib. Smooth, dull green above, paler with small tufts of reddish-brown hair in vein-axils beneath.

TWIGS: Greenish brown to reddish brown, smooth when mature. Buds pointed, light brown, smooth.

FRUIT: An acorn, ¾” to 1¼” long; the cup shallow, saucer shaped, covering 1/4 of the nut, cup-scales reddish-brown, narrow, tight, sometimes fuzzy on the edges. The acorns need two growing-seasons to ripen; the kernel is bitter.

BARK: Smooth and greenish-brown or grey, maturing to dark grey or nearly black and is divided into rounded ridges.

GENERAL: A dominant forest tree throughout the state growing to 90′ in moist to dry soils. Deer, bear, and many other mammals and birds eat the acorns. It is often planted as a shade tree. The hard strong wood is used for furniture, flooring, millwork, railroad ties and veneer. The “red oak group” includes all oaks with bristle-tipped leaves and acorns ripening over two seasons.