Willow Oak (
Quercus phellos)
DBH 11.8 (cm) measured on 10/16/2020
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.
Quercus phellos, thewillow oak, is a North American species of adeciduoustreein thered oakgroup ofoaks. It is native to the eastern and central United States fromLong Island Soundsouth to northernFlorida, and west to southernmostIllinois,Missouri,Oklahoma, and easternTexas.[2]It is most commonly found growing on lowlandfloodplains, often alongstreams, but rarely also in uplands with poor drainage, up to 400 meters (1,300ft) altitude. Willow oak's natural range extends into southeasternPennsylvaniaand southernNew Jersey. The bookPennsylvania Trees(1928), written by state chief foresterJoseph Illick, records willow oak as occurring in Lancaster, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties, chiefly on wet sites, occasionally in drier, upland ones. Much of that area has been built over and developed sinceWorld War II, and the tree is now classified as endangered in the state.
Contents
1Description
2Cultivation and uses
3Distribution and Occurrence
4References
5External links
Description[edit]
It is a medium-sized tree growing to 20–30 metres (65–100ft) tall (exceptionally to 39m, 128ft), with a trunk up to 1–1.5m (40–60in) diameter (exceptionally 2 metres, 6.6ft). It is distinguished from most other oaks by itsleaves, which are shaped likewillowleaves, 5–12cm (2–43⁄4in) long and 1–2.5cm (3⁄8–1in) broad with an entire (untoothed and unlobed) margin; they are bright green above, paler beneath, usually hairless but sometimes downy beneath. Thefruitis anacorn, 8–12mm (5⁄16–15⁄32in) long, and almost as wide as long, with a shallow cup; it is one of the most prolific producers of acorns, which are eaten bysquirrelsand other wildlife.[3]The tree starts acorn production around 15 years of age, earlier than many oak species.[4]
Autumn foliage
Willow oaks can grow moderately fast (height growth up to 60cm, 2ft a year), and tend to be conic to oblong when young, rounding out and gaining girth at maturity (i.e. more than 50 years).[citation needed]
Cultivation and uses[edit]
Economic uses are primarily as anornamental treeand thewoodforpulpandpaperproduction, but also for lumber; it is often marketed as "red oak" wood.[citation needed]
The willow oak is one of the most popular trees forhorticulturalplanting, due to its rapid growth, hardiness, balance between axial and radial dominance, ability to withstand both sun and shade, light green leaf color and full crown. Despite being heavily used in landscaping in the Southern US (such asWashington, D.C.,Charlotte, North CarolinaandAtlanta, Georgia) around malls, along roads, etc., the trees tend to grow larger than planners expect, which often leads to cracked sidewalks.