Pin Oak, Swamp Oak
Quercus palustris
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Brown. Form: Pyramidal.
Quercus palustris is a deciduous Tree growing to 25 m (82ft) by 8 m (26ft) at a fast rate. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.
Height (m): 25
Where it is found
Deep rich soils in swampy woods and bottoms at low elevations. Often found in wet, poorly drained claypan soils typical of floodplains, tolerating short periods of spring flooding.
North-eastern and Central N. America - Massachusetts to Michigan, Virginia and Arkansas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Seed - cooked. The seed is about 15mm long, it can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Coffee: the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee.
Medicine
Rating: 2
An infusion of the inner bark has been used to treat intestinal pains. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
Other
Rating: 2
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff. A black ink is made from the galls. Wood - strong, hard, coarse grained, heavy, often knotty owing to the persistence of many small limbs. It weighs 43lb per cubic foot. It is occasionally used for shingles, clap-boards, furniture, wooden nails etc and as a fuel.
Ink: Plants that can be used as an ink.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Aggressive surface roots possible, Specimen, Street tree. Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Lime tolerant. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Withstands atmospheric pollution. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. A fairly fast growing tree, it is occasionally cultivated for timber in eastern central Europe. It coppices fairly well. The tree seldom lives longer than 150 - 200 years in the wild, commencing to bear seeds when 15 - 25 years old. Seed production is cyclic, a year of high yields being followed by 2 - 3 years of low yields. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed taking two summers to ripen. There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. This species has a relatively shallow tap-root, making it easier to transplant. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Special Features: Attracts birds, North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.
Propagating it: Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Average germination rate is about 68%. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth: Fast
Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist