Plant · P-568

White Oak

Quercus alba

White Oak is the classic hardwood tree of eastern North America, grown as much for lumber as for its acorns - one of the few oaks sweet and low-tannin enough to eat raw or roasted with little or no leaching. Its straight-grained timber is what wine and liquor barrel staves are traditionally made from, because the closed grain holds liquid without leaking. It is slow: a tree does not produce a worthwhile acorn crop until about 30 years old, after which it keeps bearing for roughly a century. It tolerates shade as a sapling and full sun as it matures, but sends down a long taproot immediately, so it has to be planted where it will stand rather than transplanted later.