Tree Description
White oaks are large forest or shade trees growing to 100 feet tall with a trunk 3 feet or more in diameter. They have broad, rounded crowns of dense foliage. Open grown specimens often develop a short trunk and far-reaching limbs.
Range / Site Description
These trees are found in East Texas extending west to the Brazos River. They grow best on fertile slopes, but they can also grow in drier uplands and gravelly ridges.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, 6” to 9” long and about half as wide, deeply divided into 7-11 rounded, fingerlike lobes without bristle tips. Young leaves are soft silvery-gray or reddish while unfolding; later, they become blue-green and dull above and very pale below.
Flower & Fruit
Male and female flowers are borne separately in spring on the same tree. Male flowers are borne on yellowish-green catkins, 3” to 4” long; solitary female flowers, about ½” long, appear reddish.
The fruit is an acorn, ¾” to 1” long, light brown in color, and about one-fourth enclosed in a warty bowl-shaped cup. The acorn requires one season to mature.
Interesting Facts
Oaks can be separated into two main groups: white oaks and red oaks. While oak wood is often used to make barrels of many kinds, only wood from the white oak group can be used for watertight barrels because the pores in its wood are blocked by structures called “tyloses” that don’t allow liquids to leak out.
Species Summary
| Scientific Name: | Quercus alba |
| Secondary Names: | n/a |
| Tree Type: | Deciduous |
| Dimensions: | Height: 100 feet Trunk Diameter: 3 feet or more |
| Leaf Structure: | Simple, alternate |
| Leaf Size: | 6-9 inches long and 3-4 inches wide |
| Leaf Shape: | Obovate or oblong |
| Leaf Margin: | Lobed |
| Additional Information: | iNaturalist – White Oak |
Source: Texas A&M Forest Service Trees of Texas – White Oak