Red Oak, Northern red oak
Quercus rubra
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
Quercus rubra is a deciduous Tree growing to 25 m (82ft) by 18 m (59ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3. 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 and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 25
Where it is found
Dry or upland woods. Found in a variety of soils, it grows best in those that are deep and fine textured, and the largest trees are found in protected ravines or on sheltered slopes.
Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Oklahoma and Minnesota.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Seed - cooked. A staple food for several native North American Indian tribes. Up to 3cm 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
The bark and inner bark is antiseptic, astringent, emetic, febrifuge and tonic. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, indigestion, asthma, severe coughs, hoarseness, intermittent fevers, bleeding etc. Externally, it is used as a wash for skin eruptions, rashes, burns etc. The bark can be chewed as a treatment for mouth sores. The bark contains tannins, experimentally these have been shown to be antiviral, antiseptic, anticancer and also carcinogenic. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc.
Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.
Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.
Antiviral: Treats virus diseases
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Cancer: Used in the treatment of cancer.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Salve: Soothes and heals damaged skin.
Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.
Other
Rating: 3
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. Tannin is obtained from the bark. A reddish-brown dye can be obtained from the bark. Wood - coarse-grained, hard, strong, heavy, not durable. It weighs 41lb per cubic foot. An important lumber source in America, it is highly valued for flooring, furniture, veneer, construction etc.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
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.
Dynamic accumulator: Plants that gather minerals or nutrients from the soil and store them in a more bioavailable form and in high concentration in their tissues. Used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
How it is grown
Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Lime tolerant. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Prefers a hotter summer than is usually experienced in Britain, but trees still grow well in Britain. A fairly fast-growing tree, it is cultivated for its timber in C. Europe. Trees normally require 20 - 25 years to reach flowering size, and may take another 20 years before heavy crops of seed are produced. Seed production is cyclic, heavy crops being produced every 2 - 5 years in the wild. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed taking two summers to ripen. Trees are able to regenerate from root suckers if the top is killed by a forest fire. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
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. 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: 3-7
Growth: Fast
Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Synonyms
Q. borealis. Q. digitata.