Swamp Chestnut Oak
Quercus michauxii
Family: Fagaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Brown. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval, Rounded.
Quercus michauxii is a deciduous Tree growing to 30 m (98ft 5in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6 and is not frost tender. 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 or wet soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 30
Where it is found
Inundated bottoms, stream borders and swamps.
South-eastern N. America - Delaware to Indiana, Missouri, Florida and Texas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Seed - cooked. The seed is large, up to 35mm long and 30mm wide, but contains bitter tannins. Other reports say that the acorns are sweet and edible. The seed can be roasted then dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The bitter tannins 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
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.
Other
Rating: 3
Agroforestry Uses: The tree has been used in restoring degraded bottomland hardwood forests of the Southeastern USA. Other Uses: The leaves of most species in this genus are more or less rich in tannins. A mulch of the partially decayed leaves can be placed around vulnerable plants in order to repel slugs, snails, grubs etc, and these will in time break down to add humus and nutrients to the soil. Fresh leaves should be used with caution, however, since as these decay they utilize some of the nitrogen in the soil and thus 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 and is also used by many cultures to make ink. The bark of oak trees is also usually rich in tannins and can be used as a dyestuff and for waterproofing rope. The wood is heavy, hard, very strong, tough, dense, durable, easy to split. It weighs 50lb per cubic foot. It machines well, but is subject to checking and warping if not dried properly. It i is largely used for flooring, furniture, boxes, barrels, boat making and veneer. The wood is a favoured fuel - burning well and giving off a lot of heat
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.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Firewood, Pest tolerant, Aggressive surface roots possible, Specimen, Street tree. Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter. Closely related to Q. prinus. This species is often confused with Q. prinus, Q. prinoides and Q. muehlenbergii. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year. 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. Special Features:Attracts birds, North American native, Wetlands plant, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a standard with a non-suckering single trunk.
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; Bog Garden;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 5-9
Growth: Medium
Soil: Medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist, wet