Northern red oak
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Quercus rubra L.
Common name(s): northern red oak
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- young leaves, end of May
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- in recently leveled blueberry field
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- sun leaves
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- shade leaves
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- leaf detail
Description:
-Fagaceae family
-can grow to 20-30 meters tall and have a 36 in DBH
-fruit is an acorn
- occurs singularly or in clusters of 2-5
-begins to bear fruit at age 25
-do not grow fast enough to compete with fast woody sprouts
– may be confused with Q. velutina or Q. coccinea, which is endangered in ME; see left sidebar on Go Botany webpage
Wildlife:
-The most destructive defoliating insect attacking northern red oak is the imported gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar).
-damage is done to northern red oak acorns by
- the nut weevils (Curculio spp.)
- gall-forming cynipids (Callirhytis spp.)
- the filbertworm (Melissopus latiferreanus)
- the acorn moth (Valentinia glandulella)
-acorns are an important food for squirrels deer, turkey, mice, voles, and other mammals and birds
Habitat:
-forests
-woodlands
Sources:
Sander, Ivan L. “Norther Red Oak.” Quercus Rubra L, USDA, U.S. Forest Service, www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/quercus/rubra.htm.