Quercus alba L.
Tree, 22 - 28 m tall, trunk 0.6 - 1.2 m in diameter. Form open with wide-speading, gnarled branches. Bark light gray with shallow fissures or long, scaly blocks. Frequently, infection by a harmless fungus, Aleurodiscus oakesii, causes the non-living outer bark to fall off, leaving smooth, gray patches. Twigs changing from bright green and hairy to reddish or light gray and smooth with age. Buds dark reddish brown, 3 - 4 mm long, egg-shaped to almost spherical with a rounded tip. Each terminal bud is surrounded by a cluster of lateral buds. Leaves alternate, short-stalked, bright green above, pale green or with a waxy whitish coating beneath (glaucous), 12 - 20 cm long, 6 - 10 cm wide, with five to nine rounded lobes separated by depressions that are deep in sun leaves and shallow in shade leaves. Foliage turns brownish purple in fall. Flowers either male or female, found on the same plant (monoecious). Male flowers are borne in hanging catkins, yellow, and 5 - 8 cm long, while the reddish female flowers are borne near leaf axils. Fruit an acorn, developing in one season, solitary or in pairs, with a 0 - 2.5 cm long stalk. The deep saucer- or bowl-shaped cup covers one-quarter of the nut and has thick and warty scales with fine gray hairs. Nut light brown, 1.3 - 2 cm long and oblong to egg-shaped.
[from vPlants.org, accessed 7 January 2009]
Quercus alba naturally hybridizes with Q. macrocarpa (Q. x bebbiana), Q. muehlenbergii (Q. x deamii), and Q. montana (Q. x saulei).
[from vPlants.org, accessed 7 January 2009]
Many oaks in the white oak group and Quercus robur have highly variable, similar leaves with rounded lobes. Quercus bicolor has round-toothed to shallowly lobed leaves that are whitish and hairy beneath, peeling bark on young branches, and a long-stalked acorn cup. Quercus lyrata has leaves that are inversely egg-shaped with irregular, rounded lobes, and an acorn cup that nearly covers the nut. Quercus macrocarpa has deeply lobed leaves that are inversely egg-shaped and hairy beneath, often corky-ridged twigs, and an acorn cup with long fringes along the margin. Quercus robur has very short-stalked leaves with ear-like lobes at the base, and a long-stalked acorn cup.
[from vPlants.org, accessed 7 January 2009]
Widespread in eastern North America.
Very common in oak-hickory forests and upland dry-mesic areas.
[from vPlants.org, accessed 7 January 2009]
Quercus alba, the state tree of Illinois, is one of the most important lumber trees in the United States. Prior to the use of steel, its wood was used to build United States Navy ships. It is still used for furniture, cabinets, and flooring, however, some faster growing red oak species have replaced it.
[from vPlants.org, accessed 7 January 2009]