The white
oak is any member of a group (Leucobalanus) of
North American ornamental and
timber shrubs and trees of the genus
Quercus in the
beech family (Fagaceae). White oaks have
smooth,
bristleless leaves, sometimes with glandular
margins, and acorns
with sweet-tasting seeds that mature in one season. Bur oak and
chestnut oak are members of this group.
White oaks grow well in
moist well drained uplands and low lands and are often in pure stands. They range from south
Ontario and extreme south
Quebec east to
Maine, south to north
Flordia, west to eastern
Texas, and nort to central
Minnesota.
Many trees of the white oak group have acorns that
germinate soon after they fall and
are killed by cold before they can take root.
Gray squirrels spread white oaks by
carrying
acorns to other sites and burying them. A decline in white oak
reproduction is
often associated with a decreasing
squirrel population.