One of the
◼︎ red oaks.
Part of
oak genus Quercus
in
beech / oak family Fagaceae
in
bayberry / beech / birch / oak / walnut order Fagales.
Native to southeastern 🇺🇸 USA.
🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48)
(color key),
🗺 map (North America, Central America), 
🗺 today + with climate change (eastern 🇺🇸 USA).
In this area:
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.
If your oak is growing a few meters (yards) from a potential parent tree, its acorn probably fell there or was planted by a
squirrel family Sciuridae.
If your oak is growing a kilometer (mile) away from a potential parent tree, its acorn was probably planted by a
🐦︎ jay family Corvidae,
with whom it coevolved.
— That and lots more interesting stuff in interview
"Our Most Essential Trees: The Nature of Oaks, with Doug Tallamy" The joe gardener Show.
or its
🔊︎ audio