| Quercus alba | |
| Author | L. 1753 |
| Synonyms | alba var. subflavea AL & MC Pickens
1960 alba var. subcaerulea AL & MC Pickens 1960 candida Steud. 1841 pubescens Willd. 1796, not Willd. 1805 ramosa Dippel 1891 |
| Local names | white oak ; eastern white oak ; |
| Range | Eastern North America; 0 to 1600 m; introduced in Europe en 1724; |
| Growth habit | reaches 25 m high, but only 15 m in Europe; spreading crown; at high elevations forms a low bush; |
| Leaves | 8-20 cm long, 5-10 cm wide; elliptic, glabrous, with 3-9 pairs of untoothed lobes and more or less deep sinuses; base cuneate; dark green above, withish beneath; dark red midrib, 5-7 pairs of lateral veins; purple in autumn; petiole glabrous, yellow grey, sulcate on the lateral sides, reddish at fall, 1-2 cm long; |
| Flowers | male flowers yellow green; |
| Fruits | acorn 2-3 cm long, oblong, subsessile or short-stalked; enclosed for 1/4 of length in a shallow cup with warted, appressed and grey tomentose scales; cotyledons distinct; maturing in 1 year; |
|
Bark, twigs and |
bark pale grey to whitish on old trees, with scaly plates; twigs green or reddish often downy, then grey, becoming glabrous; buds ovoid, dark brown, pointed, 3 mm long, with hairy scales; |
| Hardiness zone, habitat | hardy; prefers acidic, well drained moist soils; long-lived, up to 200 years and more; |
| Miscellaneous | -- A. Camus : n° 278 ; -- Sub-genus Quercus, Section Quercus, Series Albae; -- Closely related to Q.bicolor and to Q.macrocarpa ; |
| Subspecies and varieties |
--- several forms : _ elongata Dipp. _ pinnatifida (Michx) Rehder 1949. _ repanda (Michx) Trel. = Q.repanda Michx --- and numerous hybrids = x bebbiana, x jackiana, x saulii , x bimumdorum, x deami, x faxonii; |
| Pictures |
|
