with …

young bark=■ light gray,
old bark     =darker gray ridged or flaky,
buds          =​short (3–6 mm) (⅛–¼ in)
white oak group  Quercus section Quercus  or  young bark=smooth shiny,
old bark     =smooth ridged or flaky,
buds          =​conical or ovate
red oak group  Quercus section Lobatae :

Young bark=light gray, old bark=​darker gray ridged or flaky;  buds=​short (3–6 mm) (⅛–¼ in):  white oak group  Quercus section Quercus

buds=∧ pointed  or
buds=⋂ rounded :

Buds=∧ pointed

buds=dark-red, ⨇ scales=⫴ hairy;
bark=fissured;
crown=​open
chestnut oak  Quercus montana   buds=chestnut-brown, ⨇ scales=hairless;
bark=flaky, trunk=​buttressed[?];
crown=​narrow dense
chinquapin oak  Quercus muehlenbergii

Buds=⋂ rounded

trunk bark has ⨇ scales you can easily rub off  or
trunk bark furrowed, has few ⨇ scales you can rub off :

Trunk bark has ⨇ scales you can easily rub off

young twigs have coarse down
post oak  Quercus stellata
young twigs smooth, 🌰︎ acorns paired on long stalks
🇬🇧 English oak  Quercus robur
🌰︎ acorns not on stalks
■ white oak  Quercus alba

Trunk bark furrowed, has few ⨇ scales you can rub off

twigs=thick ⫴ hairy, buds=⫴ hairy
bur oak  Quercus macrocarpa
twigs=thick ⫴ hairy, buds=smooth
♒︎ ■ swamp white oak  Quercus bicolor

Young bark=smooth shiny, old bark=​smooth ridged or flaky;  buds=​conical or ovate:  red oak group  Quercus section Lobatae

small contorted shrubby tree  or
normal tree :

Small contorted shrubby tree

all buds=short (<3 mm) (<⅛ in)
scrub oak  Quercus ilicifolia
all buds=long  (>3 mm) (>⅛ in)
■ blackjack oak  Quercus marilandica

Normal tree

single straight trunk with lower branches drooping
pin oak  Quercus palustris
bud ⨇ scales covered w/gray wool, inner bark=yellow (wait a minute)
■ black oak  Quercus velutina
lower part cluttered with dead branches
northern pin oak  Quercus ellipsoidalis
🌰︎⋃ acorn cup=deep like a wineglass  or
🌰︎‿ acorn cup=shallow like a saucer or metal bottle cap :

🌰︎⋃ Acorn cup=deep like a wineglass

🌰︎ acorn on short stalk
shingle oak  Quercus imbricaria
🌰︎ acorn tip has ⊚ concentric rings
■ scarlet oak  Quercus coccinea

🌰︎‿  Acorn cup=shallow like a saucer or metal bottle cap

🌰︎ acorns=near-black, with bright orange kernel
♒︎ water oak  Quercus nigra

🌰︎ acorns=long (12–25 mm) (½–1 in), bark ridges w/long smooth sections
■ northern red oak  Quercus rubra

🌰︎ acorns=short (<12 mm) (<½ in), bark ridges narrow scaly
■ southern red oak  Quercus falcata
🌰︎ acorns=short (<12 mm) (<½ in), bark ridges narrow NOT-scaly
willow oak  Quercus phellos

Learn more about oak genus Quercus (Quercus spp.)

Part of beech / oak  family Fagaceae in bayberry / beech / birch / oak / she-oak / walnut  order Fagales.

Native to the temperate and tropical areas in the 🌐︎ Northern Hemisphere, or very close.  🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48) (color key).

In many areas:

  • do not move firewood (ever), and
  • do not prune February through June (Texas) or April 15 through July 15 (🇺🇸 USA Midwest and East),
due to possible infestation by oak wilt disease (OWD)  Bretziella fagacearum.

Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)   🍂︎🌰︎☠︎ Leaves and acorns toxic[?] to humans, although many cultures process acorns to remove their tannins, making acorns an important staple food.

Quercus hosts caterpillars of 534 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.   This plant is also known to be a host for (in areas where invasive) 🐝︎ spotted lanternfly (SLF)  Lycorma delicatula.

🌰︎🌰︎🌰︎ "Out of Control Acorns This Year? - Here's What's Going On."

If your oak is growing a few meters (yards) from a potential parent tree, its 🌰︎ acorn probably fell there, or was cached and forgotten by a squirrel  family Sciuridae.

If your oak is growing a few hundred meters (yards) away from a potential parent tree, its 🌰︎ acorn probably was cached and forgotten by a 🐦︎ jay, part of family Corvidae, with whom it coevolved.

    — That and lots more interesting information in interview "Our Most Essential Trees: The Nature of Oaks, with Doug Tallamy"  The joe gardener Show.  or its 🔊︎ audio

Oaks account for more tree biomass than any other genus in 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 North America and México. [1]

Info on red oak group  Quercus section Lobatae  vs. white oak group  Quercus section Quercus,  ⚘X🦌︎ deer, and hunting.

🔍︎ 🔍︎ images Discover Life Encyclopedia of Life Michigan Flora (Minnesota) Wildflower Garden Minnesota Wildflowers Flora of North America USDA PLANTS db Wikipedia

References

[1]  "How Oak Trees Evolved to Rule the Forests of the Northern Hemisphere."  Scientific American.  .   Accessed .

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🏠︎ terrestrial woody plants that had 🍁︎🍂︎🌿︎ broadleaves 🍃︎ now gone 🌳︎🍃︎ broadleaves, branches ╟ alternate, list of attributes 🌳︎ 🍁︎🍂︎ broadleaves, 📅︎ a month or more after most other deciduous plants 🍃︎ dropped their leaves, dormant season

🇦🇺 Australian pine (beach she-oak)  Casuarina equisetifolia

■ white oak  Quercus alba ♒︎ ■ swamp white oak  Quercus bicolor ■ scarlet oak  Quercus coccinea northern pin oak  Quercus ellipsoidalis ■ southern red oak  Quercus falcata scrub oak  Quercus ilicifolia shingle oak  Quercus imbricaria bur oak  Quercus macrocarpa ■ blackjack oak  Quercus marilandica chinquapin oak  Quercus muehlenbergii ♒︎ water oak  Quercus nigra pin oak  Quercus palustris willow oak  Quercus phellos chestnut oak  Quercus montana ■ northern red oak  Quercus rubra 🇬🇧 English oak  Quercus robur post oak  Quercus stellata ■ black oak  Quercus velutina southern live oak  Quercus virginiana

⚠︎✋︎  Pacific poison oak  Toxicodendron diversilobum  ✋︎⚠︎ ⚠︎✋︎  Atlantic poison oak  Toxicodendron pubescens  ✋︎⚠︎

oak wilt disease (OWD)  Bretziella fagacearum
🐝︎ spotted lanternfly (SLF)  Lycorma delicatula