The White Oak. My personal favorite, though I'm not sure why I've developed such an affection for this tree. It is not the most common tree at Roundrock. It's outnumbered by the Blackjack Oaks and Post Oaks and the Pignut Hickories, and certainly by the cedars. Nor were there any in the yard where I grew up. (Pin oaks, as I recall, with their drooping lower limbs that once poked me directly in the eye!) I recall a massive stand of White Oaks at a nature reserve near St. Louis that I visited all the time as a youngster. A cathedral stand, I called it. Only later, when I returned to the site on an abbreviated visit many years later, did I learn they were actually Red Oaks. White Oaks rise in every county in Missouri, and they are considered common in most of the eastern United States.
I don't suppose it was the first tree I learned to identify. I can't say that I ever ever climbed one (though there is one at Roundrock that keeps calling my name). At my grandfather's Kentucky farm we had a treehouse, but that was in some pine trees. I'm not sure I could identify the wood of this tree in a lumber yard or in a piece of furniture. I don't think I've ever cut one down or chopped a fallen one into firewood. I may not have even whittled a White Oak branch into a toothpick. And yet it seems like the most important tree in my woods.
I know the location of specific White Oak trees in my forest. I could take you directly to several mighty ones that call attention to themselves by the size of their trunks and the spread of their canopies. As big as they are, though, I don't think their real old timers. I'd guess my largest aren't yet 100 years old, which means that, barring catastrophe, they could continue to be around as long as I am around (and far longer -- some White Oaks have been found that are more than 600 years old). I've tried to nurture these beauties in the few ways that I can. I've removed any dead branches I can reach so the bark can grow over the wound and eventually seal it. I've removed some competition trees from around them so they can get more of the soil nutrients and the sky sunshine. And I send them all of the happy thoughts I can muster.
The bark on the trunks of more mature White Oaks often take on a characteristic pattern, which you see illustrated here.
It is as though some of the bark has been rubbed away, and I first wondered if deer might do this when they are trying to clean the velvet from their antlers, but apparently this is not the case. Nor, I must concede, is this the result of bears scratching their backs on the trees. The bark of the White Oak tree is favored as an herbal medicinal (as well as an ingredient for witches' potions, I understand), and I began to wonder if perhaps someone was wandering my woods, harvesting bark to sell at health food stores. Only later did I learn that this patchiness is the result of an otherwise harmless fungus that grows on the bark. Regardless, it does make a White Oak trunk easy to identify.
The White Oaks tend to do best in the deepest soil, and as a result, the mightiest specimens I have are in the western part of Roundrock where the good prairie soil has not yet washed down the ravines to fill in my lakebed. Two of the largest rise across from each other beside our pond. Another healthy representative stands nearby. There are several good White Oaks beside the pine plantation, and there are a few hidden amongst the younger trees near our campsite. I'm sure I haven't found all of the big White Oaks at Roundrock, so this gives me another reason to go hike the woods.
White Oak lumber is favored for furniture and barrel staves. Something about the graining allows the oak to remain water tight. And the forest critters appreciate the tree for its abundant branches suitable for nesting as well as its cavities for denning. White Oaks produce acorns, of course, but the amount of energy required to do this can mean that they may take a half dozen years before they can produce a heavy crop, and in some years they may not produce any acorns at all. Of the ones produced, those not eaten by the deer or the turkeys or the raccoons or the opposums or the other wild things can fall victim to worms. It has been said that it takes 10,000 acrons to produce a single White Oak tree. You can understand, then, why I try to nurture the ones I have.
Missouri calendar:
- Female coyotes wean pups.
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June 23rd, 2006 at 4:10 am
White oaks also yield some of the best basketmaking material in the world. (The Ozarks are noted for white oak weavers.) Your tree would be in no danger from them, though. Basket folks prefer smaller versions, maybe 6″-8″ across.
I’m told the acorns of the white oak can be shelled, boiled through many waters, then dried and ground into flour. There is far less tanic acid in them than the red oak. Mind you, I’ve never tried this, but always wanted to.
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:01 am
White oaks are one of my favorite trees, as well. Unfortunately, we don’t have nearly as many here in PA as we used to, due appartently to a comination of factors including fire supression and increased deer herbivory. “Something about the graining” also makes them nearly impossible to split by hand! If one falls down in your woods, I strongly recommend resisting the temptation to salvage it for firewood or furniture – they are an absolute bonanza for invertebrates as they rot. And of course as standing dead snags, white oaks provide excellent habitat for everything up to pileated woodpeckers and black bears.
Gin isn’t quite right about the acorns. It’s red oaks, and others in that super-genus (black, pin), that are only edible after multiple changes of water. Acorns from white oaks are edible as-is; I often used to eat them raw when I was a kid. The squirrels and blue jays feel the same way, of course, which is one reason why white oak seedlings are rarely as numerous as those from the red oak group. Acorns of both groups were a major food staple for many Native American tribes.
June 23rd, 2006 at 9:22 am
i lived in a section of san carlos ca called white oaks when young. went to white oak elementary school. the oak trees had galls, which we called oak balls and threw at each other. woodpeckers filled all the telephone poles with acorns. my favorite oak tree was hollow starting about 8 feet up. we could climb into it, climb up inside and come out maybe 20 feet up.
June 23rd, 2006 at 9:37 am
Dave, I suspect the bitterness of white oak acorns varies from tree to tree. The few I’ve tried set my teeth on edge. I’ll stick with shagbark hickories for snacks in the woods.
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:44 pm
A rare oak in FL.
June 24th, 2006 at 7:17 am
My favorite tree, too. Here in the NC mountains we often find them growing over springs.
July 1st, 2006 at 11:33 am
[...] Do you have a favorite tree or tree species? For Pablo of Roundrock Journal, it’s the white oak. Nor is he alone in his affections. [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 8:28 am
Does anyone know, scientifically, how many years it takes for a white oak to produce acorns? I’ve been trying to make this determination and from all my readings I see anywhere from five years to eighty years. We should be able to better than that.
August 22nd, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Well, I imagine there are lots of variables that have to be considered. Soil quality, rainfall, sunlight, competition, pests, droughts and heat, and so on.
August 24th, 2006 at 7:13 am
O.K., How about under ideal conditions then?
February 20th, 2007 at 10:34 am
I uld like to buy some acorns from an oak tree, do you know where I can find them? Donna dededrake@yahoo.com
May 8th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Are white oaks native to indiana i have a leaf collection and cant quite find much about them so if you could be sure to tell me that would be great
May 8th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
i love the looks of white oaks leaves
August 24th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I noticed a question from Alan Engstrom last year in August on your site about how long it takes a white oak to produce acorns. I don’t have the answer, but I know we started our tree from an acorn in about 1986 and still have no acorns (over 20 years). The tree is between 25 and 30 feet tall now.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I have a very old huge white oak in my front yard. I have been here 32 years and it has only produced a large crop of acorns twice. 1985 and this year. It is so heavy with acorns this year that the branches are hanging very low. We have had a few in other years but very few and far between. It produces tons of flowers every spring so I do not understand what is going on. Does anyone have any ideas? There is a small white oak near our mailbox on the main road and it produces every year. I am so puzzled. I am sure the deer and our dozens of squirrels will be thrilled. We also have many shagbark hickories and they produce heavily every year.
I live in Northern Virgnia in zone 7, 30 miles south of Wash, DC and the tree is on the west side of my house if that makes any difference.
thanks for any advice,
Terri
April 25th, 2010 at 9:26 am
now you just need to chop it down with a herring