northern red oak
Quercus rubra
Unlike white oaks, northern red oak acorns take two full growing seasons to mature and contain high levels of bitter tannins to deter pests.
- Scientific name
- Quercus rubra
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fagales › Fagaceae › Quercus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Mesic to dry-mesic deciduous forests, upland slopes, and well-drained acidic soils.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis utilizing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide)
- Range
- Eastern North America, Northeastern United States, Southeastern Canada
- Size
- 20-43 meters (65-140 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter of 1-2 meters
- Lifespan
- 200 to 400 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Oak wilt disease, invasive spongy moths, extreme drought, and habitat fragmentation.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can freely approach, touch, and rest under this tree. Be cautious of falling acorns in autumn or dead branches during high winds. No first aid is required.
Quercus rubra , commonly called northern red oak , or champion oak , (syn. Quercus borealis ), is an oak in the red oak group ( Quercus section Lobatae ). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It grows from the north end of the Great Lakes, east to Nova Scotia, south as far as Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, and west to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota. It has been...
Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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