Quercus alba

White oak
A large white oak in New Jersey
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus subg. Quercus
Section: Quercus sect. Quercus
Species:
Q. alba
Binomial name
Quercus alba
Natural range
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Quercus candida Steud.
  • Quercus nigrescens Raf.
  • Quercus ramosa Dippel
  • Quercus repanda Michx.
  • Quercus retusa Raf.

Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the preeminent hardwoods of eastern and central North America. It is a long-lived oak, native to eastern and central North America and found from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec, and southern Maine south as far as northern Florida and eastern Texas.[3] Specimens have been documented to be over 450 years old.[4]

Although called a white oak, it is very unusual to find an individual specimen with white bark; the usual colour is a light gray. The name comes from the colour of the finished wood. 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.[5]

  1. ^ Kenny, L.; Wenzell, K. (2015). "Quercus alba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T194051A2295268. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194051A2295268.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Quercus alba". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. ^ "Quercus alba". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  4. ^ "Eastern OLDLIST: A database of maximum tree ages for Eastern North America".
  5. ^ Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 328–332. ISBN 0-87338-838-0.