Other Common Names:
Northern Red Oak and Black Oak.
Red Oak, at one time widely distributed in the hardwood areas of P.E.I. , is no confined to small scattered areas around Charlottetown, Tracadie and Georgetown. Around here, it seldom exceeds 60 feet in height with a diameter of 16 inches.
Growing in the forest the trunk is tall and frequently clear of branches for more than 2/3 of its length. Open grown trees develop broad-rounded crowns of stout branches. It is a fast growing tree and will do well on a wide variety of soils, but prefers a well-drained one. It is commonly found with white birch, poplars, red and white pine.
Trees that grow on poor sites are usually low and scrubby.
The wood is not as resistant to decay as the white oak, nor is it as suitable for tight cooperage. It is mainly used for flooring, interior finish and furniture.
DESCRIPTION
LEAVES: Alternate, simple, with 7 to 11 more or less deeply cut, bristle-tipped lobes extending about half-way to the midvein, 5 to 8 m inches long; dull green, smooth above, yellow-green, smooth, except for small tufts of hair in the angles of the veins below.
FLOWERS: May-June, after the leaves; unisexual; male in greenish-yellow catkins, female greenish, usually clustered, both on same tree.
FRUIT: Autumn of second year; a bitter acorn; the nut 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches long, enclosed for 1/4 to 1/3 of its length in a thick, somewhat hairy, reddish-brown cup of small tightly overlapping scales.
TWIGS: Moderately stout, dark red to greenish-brown, smooth. Terminal bud pointed, about 1/4 of an inch long, covered buds more than 12 reddish-brown, more or less hairy scales; lateral buds similar, but small.
BARK: Smooth, greenish-brown on young stems; becoming darker, shallow-fissured into hard, flat-topped, scaly ridges on older trunks.
WOOD: Hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, ring-porous; reddish-brown with paler sapwood.
The Northern Red Oak is the Provincial tree of Prince Edward Island.
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