Identifying characteristics:
The chinkapin oak is an open-growing tree 40 to 50 feet tall, with a rounded
or oval crown. When this tree is planted in open spaces, the lower branches
are often low and spreading, and the trunk low-branching and strongly tapered
with a swollen base. The leaves are
alternate, deciduous and 4 to 7 inches long. Each leaf has 8 to 13 pairs
of straight, parallel principal veins ending in a large, pointed (or rounded)
tooth. Margins are coarsely serrated, teeth often slightly incurved, and
the leaf texture is leathery. Leaves are a lustrous yellow-green above,
and paler and finely hairy below. Autumn colors vary from yellow to orange-brown,
and occasionally a deep wine color. Male and female flowers
are produced in separate catkins, appearing in May and June on the current
year's growth. The sweet, edible acorns
are solitary or produced in pairs, ripening in one year and falling from
the tree in September and October. The acorns are short-stalked, ovoid,
and 0.5 to 0.75 inches long, with a bowl-shaped cup of thin, appressed scales
covering one-third to half of the nut. The light reddish-brown buds
are 0.2 inches long, ovoid and sharp-pointed, with overlapping scales with
pale, slightly hairy margins. The thin bark
is ashy gray, and broken into shallow, rough furrows or narrow, flaky scales.
Similar species:
- swamp white oak (Q. bicolor)
- dwarf chinkapin oak (Q. prinoides)
Ecology:
Distribution: This species is native in Iowa south and east of a
line from the Loess Hills in Mills County northeastward to Winneshiek County.
Native to North America from Ontario west to Minnesota and Nebraska, south
to Delaware, Texas and western Florida, the chinkapin oak is not, however,
common anywhere in its natural range.
Habitat: Unlike other oaks, the chinkapin oak tolerates heavy clay and alkaline soils but in Iowa it is mostly found on the well-drained, calcareous soils of dry bluffs, ridges and rocky, south-facing slopes. It is hardy in zones 5 to 7, and is not troubled by any particularly serious pests or diseases in Iowa.
Uses:
Wood: Although this species is not abundant enough to be a
commercially important timber tree, the wood was once used for split-rail
fences, railroad ties and construction lumber. The wood is heavy, hard,
strong, close-grained and durable, and is excellent for fuel.
Wildlife: The nuts are eaten by white-tailed deer, squirrels, raccoons, turkey, quail and many other wildlife species.
Horticulture: The chinkapin oak, although a medium-rate grower, grows faster than most other white oaks and matures at a smaller size. It makes a handsome shade tree and, when mature, has attractive, bold, scaly, gray branches and trunk. The chinkapin oak and dwarf chinkapin oak readily hybridize, leading some authorities to name the chinkapin Q. prinoides var. acuminata.
