Northern Red Oak

Quercus rubra

Black OakQuercus velutina

Scarlet OakQuercus coccinea

Bear OakQuercus ilicifolia

Black oak group: leaves sharp-tipped, acorns mature in two years and are hairy inside.

B A R K

TEXTURE Slightly ridgedDeeply fissured blocky,

ridges very darkRidges small and

irregularSmooth, with a few raised

lenticels

COLORDark gray to black;

inner reddishBlack; inner—deep

orange or bright yellowDark gray to black;

inner—pale red or grayGray to dark brown

L E A V E S

LENGTH 5–8 inches 5–6 inches 3–6 inches 3–6 inches

COLORSurface—dull, dark

green; below—yellow-green

Surface—dark green and shiny

Surface—bright greenand shiny; below—paler

Surface—dark green;below—white or gray

SURFACE Smooth beneath Hairy beneath Smooth beneath Hairy beneath

A C O R N S

SIZE2–4 times longer

than cupTwice as long as cup Twice as long as cup

Small, nearly hemispherical,striped above middle

CUPSaucer-like,

with scales fusedBowl-like, with dull scales

Bowl-like,with shiny scales

Shallow

B U D S

SHAPE Conical, smooth Large, decidedly angled Small, rounded Small, short, blunt-pointed

COLOR Chestnut brown Yellowish-gray Light brown Reddish-brown

SCALES Silky at tipCoated with matted

wool-like hairsHairy at tip only Loose scales

O A K S

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B O The Important Distinctions

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O A K S

W O The Important Distinctions

White OakQuercus alba

Chestnut OakQuercus prinus

Bur OakQuercus macrocarpa

Swamp White OakQuercus bicolor

White oak group: leaf lobes rounded, acorns mature in one year and lack hairs inside.

B A R K

TEXTURE Ridges broad, flat, flaky Deeply furrowed Deeply furrowed, flakyDeeply fissured; broad,

flat ridges, flaky

COLOR Light grayReddish-brown to

dark brownGrayish

Grayish-brown,inner bark orange

L E A V E S

LENGTH 4–7 inches 4–8 inches 6-12 inches 4–6 inches

COLOR Surface—bright green Surface—yellow green Surface—dark green Surface—dark green

SURFACE Upper—dull Upper—shiny Upper—shiny Upper—dull

SHAPELobes rounded; cleft to midrib

Narrowly elliptical; shallow rounded lobes

Violin-shaped; lobes rounded

Slightly lobed

A C O R N S

SIZE Very fineThree times as long ascup; long and wrinkled

Twice as long as cupThree times

as long as cup

CUP Short-stalkedHairy, moderately

long-stalked

Margin fringed with long,hair-like scales, short

stalked

Margins fringed withscales, long-stalked

BB UU DD SS

SHAPE2–4 times longer

than cupBroadly ovoid, sharp-pointed

Broad ovoid, blunt or sharp-pointed

Roundish, blunt-pointed

COLOR Dark red-brown Yellowish-brown Reddish-brown Brown

SCALES Without hairs Without hairs Coated with soft hairs Small, without hairs

108 N O R T H E R N R E D O A K

N R O Quercus rubra L.

Northern red oak is the mostcommon oak species in Maine.

It occurs state-wide but is most abun-dant in the southern half of the state.Best growth is attained on rich uplandsoils. It grows to a height of 60–80 feetand a diameter of 2–3 feet, forming eithera narrow or broad head. The branchesare stout, horizontal or upright.

The bark on the trunks of oldtrees is dark gray or nearly black, and isdivided into rounded ridges. Onyounger trees and branches, it issmooth and greenish-brown or gray.The inner bark is reddish. The leavesvary in shape, are 5–8 inches long,alternate, are dull, dark green above

Northern red oak is the most

common species ofoak in Maine.

109N O R T H E R N R E D O A K

and yellow-green below, and have bris-tle-tipped lobes. Some dead leaves mayremained attached in winter.

The flowers appear in May, whenthe leaves are only partly grown. Thefruit ripens the second year. The acornis broad, large, 1–1¼ inches long, andup to four times longer than the shal-low cup. Red oak acorns are a majorsource of food for many species ofwildlife. The inside lining of the acornis densely hairy. Its tannic acid contentmakes it bitter. The twigs are smooth,greenish to reddish-brown, and have astar-shaped pith.

The wood is hard, strong and rel-atively heavy. It is used for furniture,interior finish, planks and frames, lob-ster trap runners, flooring, piling,cross-ties, timbers, pallets, dowels andfirewood. Historically, it was used forshipbuilding (ribs, beams and timbers),weir poles (some 60 feet long), as kilnwood and fence posts (when split).

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Northern Red Oak Circumference: 265'' Height: 84' Crown Spread: 71' Location: Vienna

Northern red oak oftenhas a reddish colorationin the bark fissures.

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110 B L A C K O A K

B O Quercus velutina Lam.

Black oak is used to a limited extent for interior finish, shipbuilding,flooring, piling, cross-ties, timbers, pallets, dowels, and firewood.

Black or yellow oak is found insouthern Maine from Lincoln

and southern Oxford counties south-ward; it is common near Fryeburg.It grows on dry ridges and graveluplands. The branches are slender; andthe head is narrow and open. It growsto a height of 50–60 feet and a diame-ter of 1–2 feet.

111B L A C K O A K

The bark is smooth and dark grayor brown on young stems. On oldtrees, it is divided by deep fissures intobroad, rounded ridges and is dark,almost black. It is rougher than redoak. The inner bark, which is charac-teristically bright orange or bright yel-low, was used in tanning.

The leaves are alternate, 5–6inches long, varying much in shape andgeneral outline, usually seven-lobedwith bristle points. The upper surfaceis glossy and dark green; the under sur-face is generally hairy with more obvi-ous, rusty hairs in axils of veins.

The flowers appear in May whenthe leaves are only partly grown.

The fruit, which is bitter, maturesthe second season. The acorn is ½–¾inch long, almost twice as long as thecup and one-half enclosed by it.

The twigs are smooth; buds aredensely hairy, angled and yellowish-gray.

The wood is hard, heavy, strongand coarse-grained. It is used for thesame purposes as scarlet oak

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Black Oak Circumference: 181'' Height: 73' Crown Spread: 73' Location: Fryeburg

Black oak buds andtwigs are coveredwith tan fine hairs.

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112 S C A R L E T O A K

S O Quercus coccinea Muenchh.

Scarlet oak occurs rarely in thesouthern tip of Maine. It grows on

the dry soil of ridges and uplands inYork, Cumberland and Androscoggincounties.

In Maine, scarlet oak is a smallertree than red oak, growing to a heightof 30–50 feet and 1–2 feet in diameter.The branches are slender and form anopen, narrow head.

In Maine, scarlet oak is a smaller tree than red oak.

113S C A R L E T O A K

The bark on the trunks of oldtrees is separated into irregular ridgesby shallow fissures, and is dark graywith a reddish inner bark.

The leaves are alternate, 3–6 inch-es long with a variable outline. Theupper surface is bright green and shiny;the lower is paler and less shiny. Lobesare sharp-tipped. In fall, the leaves turna deep scarlet, which accounts for thecommon name of the tree.

The flowers appear in May whenthe leaves are only partly developed.

The fruit ripens the second year.The acorn is about ½ inch long, abouttwice as long as the cup, and is fromone-third to one-half enclosed by thecup. It is quite bitter.

The wood is hard, strong andheavy, but coarse-grained. It is used toa limited extent for interior finish,shipbuilding, planks and frames, floor-ing, piling, cross-ties, timbers, pallets,dowels, and firewood.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Scarlet Oak Circumference: 73'' Height: 73' Crown Spread: 40' Location: Yarmouth

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Scarlet oak acorns havesmall rings around the tip.

114 B E A R O A K

B O Quercus ilicifolia Wangenh.

Bear oak wood is occasionally used as fuel, but isgenerally not considered to be of commercial value.

Bear or scrub oak is a small, thick-et-forming, shrubby tree usually

less than 20 feet high. It is common onthe sand barrens of southern Maine,extending into Oxford County whereit is common on the barrens surround-ing the Saco River near Fryeburg. Italso occurs in eastern Hancock County,and on rocky ridges and barren ledgesites along the coast.

The bark is smooth, gray-brown,and has a few raised lenticels. On larg-er trees the bark may become roughand scaly.

115B E A R O A K

The leaves are the primary distin-guishing feature. They have 5–9 bris-tle-tipped lobes, are whitened on theunderside, alternate and 2–4 incheslong. The second set of lobes from thebase tends to be much larger than others.

Male flowers are pale reddish-green catkins that appear in May whenthe leaves are only partially grown. Thefruit is a dark brown acorn 2⁄5–4⁄5 inchlong that matures in the fall of the sec-ond season.

The twigs are slender and denselyhairy during the first year. The termi-nal buds are clustered, chestnut brownand blunt-pointed. The lateral buds areof similar size to the terminal.

The wood is occasionally used asfuel, but is generally not considered tobe of commercial value.

Bear oak twigs are finerthan the other native oaksand covered with hairs.

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116 W H I T E O A K

White oak, which gets its namefrom the color of the bark,

occurs naturally in southern and cen-tral Maine as far north as Oakland innorthern Kennebec County. It growson sandy land, gravelly ridges andmoist bottomland, but makes the bestgrowth on rich, heavy, upland soils. Ingood situations, it attains a height of60–70 feet and a diameter of 3–4 feet.When not crowded by other trees, the

W O Quercus alba L.

White oak wood is strong, heavy, hard and durable, makingit ideal for use in flooring, furniture and boatbuilding.

117W H I T E O A K

bole (trunk) is short, the limbs are largeand diverging, and the head is broadand rounded. In the forest, it has a longbole and a narrow head.

The bark on the trunk is separat-ed into thin, irregular flakes and variesfrom light to ashy-gray.

The leaves are usually nine-lobed.The lobes are rounded, slightly cleft orcleft nearly to the midrib, alternate, 4–7inches long, bright green above, palegreen or whitish beneath. They some-times remain on the tree during winter.

The flowers come out in Maywhen the leaves are half grown.

The fruit ripens in September ofthe first year. The acorn is about ¾inch long, 2–4 times longer than thecup, and about one-quarter enclosed byit. The fruit is edible. AmericanIndians pounded it into a flour andbleached out the tannin with hot water.

White oak acorns mature in one year. Theycontain less tannin than red oak acorns andare preferred by wildlife.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8White Oak Circumference: 239'' Height: 64’ Crown Spread: 95' Location: Pittston

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The twigs are gray to purple; buds areblunt-pointed, and scales are withouthairs.

The wood is strong, heavy, hardand durable. It is used for ship andboatbuilding, railroad ties, piling, agri-cultural implements, interior finish,furniture, flooring, pulp, and firewood.In the past, it was used for deck plank-ing on ships, tight cooperage (tightcasks capable of holding liquid such aswhiskey), and spokes and rims ofwooden wheels.

118 C H E S T N U T O A K

C O Quercus prinus L.

Chestnut oak only occurs in thesouthern tip of Maine. It is

found on Mt. Agamenticus in thetown of York and has been reportedfrom Oxford County. In Maine, treesgrow 12 inches or more in diameterand about 40 feet in height.

The gray-brown bark is smoothon young trees, but becomes thick andvery deeply furrowed on older trees.The leaves are similar to those of theAmerican chestnut. They are yellow-

Due to chestnut oak’s rarity in Maine,it is not used commercially here.

green above, hairy below, narrowlyelliptical with shallow rounded lobeswithout bristle tips. They are oftenwidest above the middle.

Male flowers are yellow-green,borne on catkins and appear in May.Female flowers are reddish, borne inspikes with the leaves in mid-spring.The edible fruit is a large, 1½ inchlong, ellipsoid acorn that matures inone season. Its cup encloses about halfof the acorn. The twigs are hairless andorange-brown to gray. The chestnutbrown buds are clustered toward theend of the twig, pointed, and quitelong and narrow in shape.

119C H E S T N U T O A K

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Chestnut Oak Circumference: 191'' Height: 90' Crown Spread: 72' Location: Yarmouth

They gray bark of the chestnut oakis very deeply furrowed.

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The wood is similar in characterto white oak and has similar uses.In areas where chestnut oak is moreabundant, it is sold as white oak. Dueto its rarity in Maine, it is not usedcommercially here.

120 B U R O A K

B O Quercus macrocarpa Michx.

Bur oak is found in the southerntwo-thirds of the state and is

locally plentiful in central Maine. It isquite common along the SebasticookRiver, the lower Penobscot basin, andeast into Hancock County. It grows inlow, rich bottomland, and is rarelyfound on dry soil. It has a broad top ofwide, spreading branches. The trunk isoften clear of limbs for two-thirds ormore of its length. It attains a height of60–70 feet, and a diameter of 2–3 feet.

Very durable, hard, heavy and strong, bur oak is used forfor cabinetry, barrels, hardwood flooring and fence posts.

121B U R O A K

The bark is grayish, deeply fur-rowed and broken into plate-like irreg-ular scales.

The leaves are roughly violin-shaped in outline, with rounded lobesthat are not generally as deeply cut asthe white oak.The upper end of the leafis widest. They are alternate, dark greenand shiny on the upper surface, palegreen or silvery-white on the lower.

The flowers appear in May whenthe leaves are partly formed.

The fruit, which is edible, maturesthe first year and is usually solitary. Itvaries in size and shape. The acorn isabout ¾ inch long, and about halfenclosed by the cup. The margin of thecup is fringed with long, hair-like scales.The twigs have corky wings or ridges.

The wood is very durable, hard,heavy and strong. It is used for thesame purposes as white oak.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Bur Oak Circumference: 176'' Height: 86' Crown Spread: 74' Location: West Gardiner

Bur oak twigs have ridges of corky bark,a characteristic that is not shared by anyof our other native oaks.

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122 S W A M P W H I T E O A K

S W O Quercus bicolor Willd.

Swamp white oak is not abundant,but occurs in small, widely scat-

tered groves in York and Androscoggincounties. It grows in moist, fertile soilon the borders of swamps and alongstreams.

Swamp white oak grows to aheight of about 50 feet and a diameterof 2–3 feet. The limbs are small, usual-ly pendulous. The head is narrow, openand round-topped.

The bark on old trees is deeplyfurrowed, divided into broad, flatridges, flaky and grayish-brown. On

Swamp white oak is not abundant, but occurs in small,widely scattered groves.

123S W A M P W H I T E O A K

young trees and branches, it is smoothand separates into papery scales thathang loosely. The inner bark is orange.

The leaves are alternate, 4–6 inch-es long and slightly lobed. The uppersurface is dark green and shiny; thelower, pale white or tawny.

The flowers appear in May whenthe leaves are not more than half-grown.

The fruit matures the first season.The acorn has a long stalk, is about 1inch long, three times as long as the cupand about one-third enclosed by it.

The twigs have a yellowish or alight orange to reddish-brown bark.

The wood is strong, heavy, hardand used for the same purposes as thewhite oak.

M A I N E R E G I S T E RO F B I G T R E E S

2 0 0 8Swamp White Oak*

Circumference:122''/126''

Height: 74'/75'Crown Spread: 65'/60'

Location:Wiscasset/Paris Hill

*Tie

Swamp white oak twigs have small roundedbuds. The bark of the twigs and small branchestends to peel and flake.

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124 A M E R I C A N C H E S T N U T

A C Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.

Most of the chestnut trees inMaine have been destroyed by

the chestnut blight fungus, Endothiaparasitica. There are national effortsunderway to develop blight-resistanttrees of this once very important treespecies.

There are national efforts underwayto develop blight-resistant trees of thisonce very important tree species.

125A M E R I C A N C H E S T N U T

The natural range of Americanchestnut only extended into southernand central portions of the state.Chestnut now occurs infrequently, usu-ally as sprout growth, in the southernhalf of the state on rich, well-drainedsoil. It has been planted occasionally asfar north as Orono. The tree grows rap-idly. In the forest, it has a tall, straighttrunk free of limbs, and a small head.When not crowded, the trunk dividesinto 3 or 4 limbs and forms a low, broadtop. It reaches a height of 60–70 feetand a diameter of 15–30 inches.

The bark on the trunks of oldtrees is dark brown and divided intobroad, flat ridges by shallow, irregularfissures. On young stems, it is smoothand dark gray with a green tinge.

The leaves are coarsely-toothedand hooked, with the leaf marginrounded between the teeth. Leaves arealternate, 5–8 inches long, yellow-green and smooth on both surfaces.

The fruit is a prickly bur contain-ing 2–3 nuts tipped with hairs. Theinner lining of the bur is plush-like.

The fruit of American chestnut is contained ina very prickly bur.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8American Chestnut Circumference: 117'' Height: 45' Crown Spread: 44' Location: Orono

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The nuts contain a sweet meat; theywere once gathered in large quantitiesfor the market.

The wood is soft, very durable,strong and splits easily. It is used forinterior finishing and was once inmuch demand—prior to the blight—for telephone poles, railroad ties,beams and timbers up to 50 feet inlength, furniture stock and fence posts.The durability of the wood is due tothe tannic acid that it contains.

To keep logs sorted as theywere transported to mills,each company choppeda brand into its logs.A Great Northern PaperCompany brand can beseen in the foreground.