Plant · GBIF taxon 2879737
white oak
Quercus albaAlso known as Stave Oak, Forked-leaf White Oak
Majestic eastern giants, white oaks form the backbone of mature deciduous forests with their broad, sweeping canopies and pale grey, scaly bark. Their acorns ripen in a single season, providing a critical autumn food source for wild turkeys, deer, and dozens of mammal species. Outstandingly resilient, established trees can live for over four centuries while shaping entire forest ecosystems.
DeciduousHardwoodLong-Lived
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Sunlight
- Water
- Soil Minerals
Predators
- Spongy Moth Caterpillars
- Oak Borer Beetles
- White-tailed Deer
ThreatsOak Wilt, Spongy Moth Infestations, Habitat Fragmentation
HabitatsTemperate Deciduous Forests, Upland Slopes, Valleys
Life span300 - 600 years
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyFagaceae
- SpeciesQuercus alba
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Leaf Identification: Look for rounded, finger-like lobes without bristle tips along smooth leaf margins.
- Bark Cues: Spot light grey bark that forms distinctive vertical plates or shingled ridges on older trunks.
- Acorn Spotting: Search the forest floor in autumn for sweet, short-stalked acorns with shallow, bumpy caps.
Seed Disperser (c) Diliff, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Forager "Birds - Red-headed Woodpecker by MarvinnAnn Patterson" by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Southwest Region is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/. · cc0
Close Relative 
Close Relative (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman · cc-by-sa
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