But theyre not only famous for this.
Oak trees also have a good value to human and animals.
Oak is also known for itsaesthetic value, including its unique grain pattern.
They feed a variety of wild animals, including birds, mammals, and insects.
There are many varieties of oak trees with the United States alone boasting of over sixty species.
The varieties almost look the same, but most are used for different purposes.
Here is a list of 21 types of oak trees spread across the globe.
White Oak (Quercus alba)
White oak is the most widespread of the oak family.
The tree grows up to between 80 to 150 feet long when matured.
This throw in of oak takes approximately five years to reach its maturity.
Despite the name white oak, the tree has a distinct gray bark.
Their leaves are also different from other oaks.
Theyre not pointed, nor do they have sharp bristles though theyre lobed.
The tracks can become too thick hence not supposed to be grown near buildings.
Natives use the bark of white oak for various medicinal purposes.
They work as a cure for bronchitis, arthritis, fever, cough, and colds.
Theyre also good for improving appetite and aiding digestion.
The tree also makes wonderfulhardwoodused for furniture, flooring, cabinetry, and boatbuilding.
Black Oak (Quercus velutina)
This is oak specie with a different look from its name.
They were initially named yellow oak because of their look.
The tree has a pale red-brown color.
Black oak belongs to thered oak familyfound in central North America.
They mature at around 65 to 80 feet.
Their lobed leaves feature a shiny green color at the top with matte brown underneath.
The trees feature a coarse-textured wood.
The tree thrives in acidic and dry soil.
They are intolerant to shade as they need enough sunlight.
Their leaves turn yellow when grown in soils with high pH.
They are also prone to decay hence not good for structures.
Its a difficult one to transplant due to its long roots.
Their wood has defects hence not used as much.
But they can still make good fence posts and used for fuel.
Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Common in North America, Bur oak is among thewhite oak family.
The tree grows up to 100 feet long with a diameter of 10 feet when matured.
It has deeply lobed leaves with a bright upper and white underside.
Bur oak produces a beautiful pale brown wood, which is coarse grain.
Bur oak is easily adaptive to the urban setting as its resistant to pollution and intense heat.
The tree has a very long lifespan of up to 200 to 300 years.
The tree is very valuable, thanks to itshardwood.
The durable wood has very many qualities.
Theyre used for flooring, making barrels, fence posts, and carpentry.
Native Americans value bur oak for itsmedicinal value.
It cures broken bones, heart ailments, and diarrhea.
Its also an astringent used for drying wounds.
It matures with a height of 60 to 75 feet.
It has a bright top with an underside gray.
Its a deciduous tree with orange to yellow-brown fall color.
It falls under thewhite oak family.
The oak does well in limestone soil with the ability to survive in steep and rocky areas.
Chestnut is one of those oaks that grow very slowly and can take up to 10 years to mature.
It adapts medium to large size depending on the growth conditions.
Theyre also adaptable to urban conditions hence used in streets and parks to provide its perfect shade.
Its fire-resistant and valuable to wildlife as a habitat and food source.
Cherrybark Oak (Quercus pagoda)
Cherrybark oak grows very fast and mature at 100 to 130 feet.
Their bark is similar to that of black cherry hence the name.
Despite growing too fast, theyre still one of the strongest woods.
Cherrybark produces strong woods makingexcellent timberfor furniture or building.
The oak is under thefamily of red oakand features a medium red-brown color.
Thanks to their hardwood strength, theyre considered the best among the red oak family.
They are mainly found in moist areas native to the southern United States.
They are deciduous trees whose appearance changes with seasons.
They can also do well in dry areas that receive good sun with partial shade.
Thanks to its shade, its perfect for parks and streets.
Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
This is a medium-size oak that matures at 67 to 100 feet.
At a glance, you might mistake it for black or pin oak.
However, it has lobed leaves that are C-shaped, acting as a differentiator.
It features a beautiful foliage color of bright red.
Its red fall color extends up to winter to bring out the beauty against the white snow.
It develops a beautifulopen and rounded crownthat gives perfect shade.
The oak is perfect for building thanks to its beautiful large pores, coarse texture, and rot-resistant nature.
Its valued by humans for its fine wood as well as ornament.
Its also calledwater oakor swamp laurel.
The evergreen oak species grow to maturity between 65 to 80 feet.
However, its a short-lived oak with a lifespan of about 30 to 50 years.
The oak grows very fast with upright growth.
One of the reasons for their short life is that theyre easily attacked by heart rot.
They have no capacity to contain the rot; hence the tree fails gradually and eventually collapses.
The tree is found in Europe, Ireland area hence sometimes referred to asIrish oak.
The infamous oak thrives in the woods around hilly regions.
They produce acorns that act as a wonderful food source for birds and other wild animals.
It features straight branches and an upright trunk.
English Oak (Quercus robur)
English oak is one of those oak trees with a very long life.
The trees grow broad and rounded and have short trunks.
In fact, English Oak tends to broaden as they age to increase their lifespan.
English oak is common in the UK.
Its found in the woods of southern and central Britain.
Theyre also important for humans economically.
Their strength makes them one of thebest woods for furnitureand interior carpentry.
Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
Pin oak is another widely known oak that grows so fast.
It got its name from the short and tough limbs and branches.
The tree, native of Illinois, makes wonderful lawn and garden because of its aesthetic appeal.
If you need something to give your garden a new look, this is the oak to go for.
Whats more, pin oak is pollution tolerant.
Theyre the pop in that can grow under the poorest conditions and bad soil.
When its fully matured, pin oak grows up to a maximum of 70 feet with a 3-foot diameter.
While its good for home, it will only serve its purpose for up to 40 years.
After the age, Pin oak tends to lose its foliage and grow wild.
Holm Oak (Quercus ilex)
This is anevergreen oakwith its origin from the Mediterranean.
The Holm oak features broad leaves and can grow to 20 meters with a rounded crown.
It also features a black bark.
Thanks to its beautiful shape, the tree is mostly used in gardens and parks.
They are used to break the wind along the sea coast thanks to their salt resistance.
They also tolerate shade and air pollution, making them perfect for the streets.
However, theyre not good for places that experience severe winter.
Thanks to its strength, holm oak also makes good timber.
Its also perfect for firewood as its fire burns slowly and lasts long enough.
Its one of the slowest-growing oaks that can thrive in dry areas.
They adapt to poor soils, mostly on top of ridges.
The unique oak specie is resistant to fire, drought, or rot.
The leaves are somehow rough due to the scattered hairs and have a dark green color.
Just like the name, Post oak wood is used for posts, construction, and railroad ties.
They makestrong and hardwoodperfect for these uses.
The tree is also praised for its medicinal value as it was natively used to cure several ailments.
Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis)
Turkey oak falls under thered oak categorythat mainly occurs on the coastal plains.
Its native to south-eastern Europe.
you might easily recognize Turkey oak by its shoot buds with soft bristles.
They have brittle tipped leaf lobes.
It also features trunk fissures streaked with orange close to the base.
Apart from serving the purpose of ornaments and beautifying lawns, Turkey oak also has other values.
Its timber may not be as strong as other oak species, but its still perfect for indoor use.
They may undergo warping or cracking when exposed to the weather outside.
The oak also performs well in alkaline soils.
At first glance, you might not recognize Chinkapin as an oak tree.
Unlike other oaks, it doesnt have lobbed leaves.
When young, Chinkapin appears pyramidal or oval with a pale gray trunk.
Chinkapin is as valuable to humans as it is to animals.
Humans use it to beautify large lawns, gardens, and parks.
Its commonly used for specimen planting.
They were also used in the past for railroad trails.
Wild animals depend on their delicious scorns for food.
Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
Live oak is anevergreen treethat retains its beauty by constantly renewing its leaves.
The oak grows in a unique way if the environment favors them.
They start by spreading their sweeping limbs towards the ground then eventually shoot upwards.
While this happens, the oak creates impressive branches.
They mature to about 50 feet with their crown spreading up to 80 feet.
They have very thick trunks that grown up to 150 feet.
The trees produce tapered corns, which is an important food source for birds and different types of animals.
The oaks grow well in shades and places with salt soils.
However, the trees are unable to withstand freezing temperatures hence not suitable for high winter areas.
It can lose its leaves and grow them back when the climate condition favors them.
The oak has its origin in western North American.
The tree features massive branching trunks with broad crowns.
Oregon oak grows up to around 50 to 90 feet when mature.
Its branches dont spread out too wide because its intolerant to shade.
Its, however, resistant to fire though smaller ones can get killed by intense heat.
They can do well in areas that experience drought.
They grow in wet areas, near rivers and other water bodies.
It needs the wetness during winter and still withstands the drought of summer.
This oak tree that grows extremely fast is a very important food source for animals.
It produceshard and heavy woodwith exceptional strength.
Theyre also resistant to abrasion hence perfect for building.
Native Americans also eat the delicious acorns of Oregon white.
Its a staple food that is eaten raw, dried, or cooked.
Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)
Shumard oak grows very fast and is resistant to drought.
The beautiful tree adapts well to urban life hence perfect for parks, home yards, and streets.
When matured, the tree goes for about 40 to 60 feet in length.
The tree thrives in acidic and alkaline soils.
It prefers well-drained soil with normal moisture.
Thedeciduous treehas its leaves turn red with a burst of rich color during fall before falling off eventually.
Youll recognize it easily with its interesting foliage.
It has oak shaped leaves with dark green colors.
It boasts of some of the largest acorns among the oak family, going up to 1.5 inches wide.
They make delicious food for various bird species.
Humans also use the acorns in their craft pieces.
The tree crowns comfortably in the wild.
It can do well in poor soil areas like hilltops and slopes.
They grow into excellently large trees with a height of 60 to 80.
It also produces durable shade and rounded canopy.
To avoid drought, southern oak displays a wonderfully straight growth of well-spaced branches attached strongly to the tree.
Its wood is perfect for making home furniture.
The wood weighs about 60 pounds and is ring porous to semi-ring porous.
Its also valuable to wildlife because its acorns are delicious, feeding both birds and mammals.
Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Northern red oak is common in North America.
It grows to around 65 to 70 feet and spread up to 45 feet when it reaches its maturity.
The tree grows at a very fast rate in compacted soil.
Northern red oak is love thanks to its aesthetic beauty.
Its leaves turn russet red or bright red during fall and luxurious dark in summer.
It also produces a very wonderful shade with its beautiful rounded shape.
Northern red rock is mostly found in rocky and sandy areas.
Its attracted to moist areas.
The tree features incredible wildlife value thanks to its delicious acorns.
Its also valuable to humans.
Its used for flooring, furniture, railroad ties, and erecting fence-posts.
They form part of thered oak groupbut have distinct characteristics.
The leaves have no lobes but are thin and straight.
The trees are attracted to river banks, streams, and flood plains.
Theyre also perfect for the streets and adopt a height perfect for urban parameters.
Willow oak can tolerate drought and is not affected by pollution or pests.
Theyre also easy to transplant thanks to their shallow roots.
Despite its beauty, willow oaks large size makes it inappropriate for gardening.
The tree is very eye-catching with its brilliant reddish back and leathery dark green leaves.
It produces rich yellow-brown color in fall.
Thanks to its beauty, many people plant it as an ornament.
Its very easy to transplant.
It flourishes in poorly drained soil and drought and cold tolerant.
Overcup is aperfect tree for landscapessuch as golf courses and parks.
The expansion might overwhelm your home space.
The tree hasmedicinal useshence valued by a human.
Its also a perfect wood since its durable, hard, and tough.
Bottom Line
Oak trees no doubt one of the best trees found in the ecosystem.
They are valuable to both humans and animals in equal measures.
Various types of oak woods have different uses, including gardening, construction, furniture, and medicine.
Consider the throw in of soil they thrive in, their preferred climatic conditions, and their aesthetic value.
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