White Oak, Quercus Alba

The white oak is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is in our opinion, the most beautiful and the most distinctive of all oak species. It is a long-lived oak of the family Fagaceae, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas.

Specimens have been documented to be over 450 years old. Although it is called white oak, it is very unusual to find an individual specimen with white bark; the usual color is a light gray. In the forest it can reach a magnificent height and in the open it develops into a massive broad-topped tree with large branches striking out at wide angles. Normally it is not a very tall tree, typically reaching 80–100 feet at maturity, it nonetheless becomes quite massive and its lower branches are apt to extend far out laterally, parallel to the ground. Trees growing in a forest will become much taller than ones in an open area which develop to be short and massive. In spring the young leaves are of a delicate, silvery pink and covered with a soft, blanket-like down. White oak is cultivated as an ornamental tree somewhat infrequently due to its slow growth and ultimately huge size.

It is not tolerant of urban pollution and road salt and due to its large taproot, is unsuited for a street tree or parking strips/islands. The white oak, is fairly tolerant of a variety of habitats, and may be found on ridges, in valleys, and in between, in dry and moist habitats, and in moderately acid and alkaline soils. It is mainly a lowland tree.