White Oak

The white oak is a large deciduous, hardwood tree of the Beech family. 

• It’s slow growing and can reach heights of 50 - 80 feet. Trunk gets to about 2-4 ft wide in diameter. 

• Produces a 3/4- to 1-inch-long brown acorn. 

• They have 7 to 9 rounded lobes, 5 to 9 inches long with short petioles.

• The bark is a light gray color that is tight when young but forms loose strips or blocks as the tree ages.

• Typically drop their acorns before red oak trees. Although they grow slowly, they live long. Some have lived past 500 years. 

• Vincent’s Forester Fun Fact: White oak is Connecticut’s state tree! The legend goes that colonists hid a charter in an unusually large White Oak tree which allowed Connecticut to continue self-govern under King James II reign in 1687 when it was threatened. This tree would birth the Charter Oak legend. 

• Another Fun Fact: A majority of whiskey barrels are actually built using white oak wood.