Identifying characteristics:
The white oak has a broad, rounded crown and heavy, rugged-looking branches.
It reaches a height of 80 to 100 feet with a stem diameter of 3 to 4 feet.
The 5- to 9-inch-long leaves are
a smooth, glossy, deep green with bluish overtones and have round-tipped
lobes. In the autumn, the leaves turn a rich, winey color and tend to cling
on the tree through winter. The flowers
appear in spring with male and female flowers in separate catkins on the
current year's growth. The oblong, unstalked acorns
occur singly or in pairs and are 0.5 to 0.75 inches long. The bowl-shaped
cups are covered with thick, warty scales and cover the lower quarter of
the nut. The buds are globe-shaped with overlapping, smooth, reddish-brown
scales. Bark is light gray, separating
into small, scaly, loose plates and is often furrowed with broad, flat ridges
in older trees.
Similar species:
Ecology:
Distribution: The white oak is hardy to zone 3 and native to the
eastern US from southern Canada to northern Florida. In Iowa, this species
is native as far west as the Cedar, Raccoon and Nodaway rivers; it also
grows in the north-central (Pilot Knob) areas of the state.
Habitat: This tree tolerates a wide range of soils but prefers rich, deep, well-drained, loamy soils. It often dominates dry upland woods and, once established, can tolerate drought conditions. It also occurs on moist slopes, though less abundantly. Insect pests include the white oak borer and leaf miner. This species is subject to anthracnose fungus which causes severe defoliation especially of the lower half of the crown, but it is resistant to oak wilt disease fungus. Root rot can cause extensive dieback of major limbs. Like the pin oak and scarlet oak, this tree is sensitive to pollution and soil compaction.
Uses:
Wood: The white oak is the most important timber species in the US
as the wood is strong, hard, durable and widely available. It was the mainstay
in North American ship-building prior to the use of steel. Many World War
II mine sweepers and patrol boats had keels of white oak from F.D. Roosevelt's
Hyde Park estate. This species is the principle tree used for railroad ties,
mine timbers, flooring, paneling, firewood and whiskey barrels.
Wildlife: The acorns are edible and sweet after boiling and were once a staple of Native Americans. The white oak bears large acorn crops once every 4 to 6 years and the acorn is important to many wildlife species including upland gamebirds, songbirds, small mammals and hoofed browsers.
Horticulture: Q. alba is one of the most beautiful landscape trees: although sensitive to root disturbance, it is attractive in winter, casts a dense shade and has stout branches which are not susceptible to wind damage. A relatively fast grower in the first decade of its life, the white oak takes years to mature to form a fine, majestic specimen.
