Red Oak – Quercus rubra


Red Oak – Quercus rubra

color photo Red Oak - Quercus rubraThis red oak is 69 years old

Family Fagaceae – Beech, Chinkapin and Oak
Northern red oak has been extensively planted as an ornamental for brilliant fall foliage.

color photo Red Oak foliage

There are about four hundred species in the oak genus (Quercus) worldwide. Oak trees are majestic beauties and symbols of strength in many cultures. The oak is the national tree of not only the United States, but of England and Germany as well.

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra), also known as common red oak, eastern red oak, mountain red oak, and gray oak, is widespread in the East and grows on a variety of soils and topography, often forming pure stands. Moderate to fast growing, this tree is one of the more important lumber species of red oak and is an easily transplanted, popular shade tree with good form and dense foliage.

color photo Red Oak foliage

Northern red oak is the only native oak extending northeast to Nova Scotia. It grows from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and the Gasp Peninsula of Quebec, to Ontario, in Canada; from Minnesota South to eastern Nebraska and Oklahoma; east to Arkansas, southern Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Red Oak, Morton Arboretum accession 656-40*1 photos: Bruce Marlin

Family Fagaceae – Beech, Chinkapin and Oak
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