Arkansas Tree Database

Northern Red Oak

Northern Red Oak

Scientific name:

Quercus Rubra

Size:

65' tall by 65' wide, up to 100' tall

Leaves:

alternate, simple, 5"-9" long, with 7-9 lobes, bristle-tipped

Flowers:

inconspicuous

Fruit:

large acorn barely enclosed by dark brown shallow cup, ripening in autumn of the second year

Fall Interest:

often brilliant red after frost; deciduous

Culture:

sun to partial sun; dry to moist soil, adaptable to pH and low fertility

Disease/Insect:

Use:

shade tree, street tree, park tree; wood for flooring, furniture, sashes and doors, veneer, cooperage, crossties, fuel

Cultivars:

Notes:

bark gray to dark gray with shallow grooves and wide ridges, appearing vertically striped; in the red oak group; butterfly larval host; native to midwest to northern US

Resources:

Click thumbnail to enlarge images

Northern red oak bark on trunk Northern red oak male flowers, in catkins, with emerging leaves Northern red oak male flowers, in catkins, with emerging leaves Northern red oak flowers, female, in leaf axils Northern red oak leaf, 5"-9" long Northern red oak leaf, showing tapered lobes and bristles on the tips Northern red oak leaves, fall Northern red oak leaves, showing tapered lobes and bristles on the tips Northern red oak acorns Northern red oak immature acorns Northern red oak acorns Northern red oak acorn germinating Northern red oak tree habit, winter Northern red oak immature acorn Northern red oak twig with buds