Pin Oak
Quercus palustris
Pin oaks are in the red oak group, along with red, black and shingle oaks. They are native to the eastern and central United States as well as southern Ontario. Their range extends west to eastern Kansas and south to Georgia. Also referred to as swamp oaks, pin oaks are often found growing in even-aged stands on level floodplain land. They prefer full sun and poorly drained, acidic soils with a high clay content. During the dormant season, they can tolerate periodic flooding.
Pin oaks are a fast-growing pioneer species, living a maximum of 120 years - a short life span among the oaks. Unlike other oaks that develop a taproot, they have a shallow, fibrous root system and are easy to transplant. Tolerant of heat, air pollution and compacted soils, pin oaks are highly sought after as urban shade trees. They are well-known for their distinctive growth pattern – a straight columnar trunk with upper branches angled skyward, middle branches spreading horizontally and lower branches drooping downward. This characteristic silhouette is particularly pronounced during the dormant season.
Physical characteristics:
Form: Rounded pyramidal crown. Grows 60 to 70 feet high, 25 to 40 feet wide.
Leaves: Alternating, 3 to 6 inches long, with 5 lobes (occasionally 7 or 9 lobes), irregular, deep u-shaped sinuses with bristle-tipped teeth. Leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, paler beneath, turning a reddish bronze color in autumn. Pin oaks tend to hold onto their leaves through the winter.
Flowers: Yellow-green catkins, 5 to 7 inches long.
Fruit: Hemispherical acorns, ½” long with a thin cup or cupule, flattened at the top and covered with closely spaced scales. The acorns are a good food source for songbirds, turkeys, ducks and squirrels.
Bark: Light gray and smooth for many years, eventually turning grayish brown with thin ridges and furrows.
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Pin oaks are a fast-growing pioneer species, living a maximum of 120 years - a short life span among the oaks. Unlike other oaks that develop a taproot, they have a shallow, fibrous root system and are easy to transplant. Tolerant of heat, air pollution and compacted soils, pin oaks are highly sought after as urban shade trees. They are well-known for their distinctive growth pattern – a straight columnar trunk with upper branches angled skyward, middle branches spreading horizontally and lower branches drooping downward. This characteristic silhouette is particularly pronounced during the dormant season.
Physical characteristics:
Form: Rounded pyramidal crown. Grows 60 to 70 feet high, 25 to 40 feet wide.
Leaves: Alternating, 3 to 6 inches long, with 5 lobes (occasionally 7 or 9 lobes), irregular, deep u-shaped sinuses with bristle-tipped teeth. Leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, paler beneath, turning a reddish bronze color in autumn. Pin oaks tend to hold onto their leaves through the winter.
Flowers: Yellow-green catkins, 5 to 7 inches long.
Fruit: Hemispherical acorns, ½” long with a thin cup or cupule, flattened at the top and covered with closely spaced scales. The acorns are a good food source for songbirds, turkeys, ducks and squirrels.
Bark: Light gray and smooth for many years, eventually turning grayish brown with thin ridges and furrows.
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