In the United States, there are about 90 varieties of native oak. Oaks (genus Quercus) come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, and you'll even find some evergreens in the mix. Most oaks are classified as red or white oaks. While oak trees grow all over the world, North America is home to the widest variety of species.
In the United States alone, there are about 90 different types of native oak trees that grow across the country. Most of them are classified as red oaks or white oaks. One of the most popular oak trees in the United States is the Angel Oak on Johns Island in South Carolina. Believed to be about 400 years old, the tree attracts thousands of visitors eager to see the 65-foot-tall tree in all its fairytale splendor.
Quercus represents a broad category that contains around 600 species of oak trees. In the United States, oak trees are a dominant tree species in many forests. Because they have grown in such high numbers over the centuries, oak trees are some of the most recognizable trees in existence. There are a total of 76 types of oak trees common in North America, and they are described below, each with a high-quality photo of their foliage.
I sincerely hope that you can identify the type of oak you are looking for. There are nearly 60 oak trees native to the United States, some of which are native to very small mountain ranges, which illustrate how diverse the Quercus genus really is. In California, for example, there are many oak species with very limited natural areas of distribution, such as blue oak and valley oak, which enables objectives as specific as the restoration of the native ecosystems of the oak savanna. And in the east, Stone Mountain oak grows only on the rocky surface of Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, Georgia, and in some similar areas, while a species such as Oglethorpe oak is rare enough to be found only in isolated areas of South Carolina and Georgia.
One of the largest oaks in the Southwest, the Arizona oak, reaches up to 60 feet in height and up to three feet in diameter. With bright green leaves and a height of up to 70 feet, this is a very attractive oak that prefers moist soil and full sun. The tree produces beautiful yellow-green flowers in the spring and has leaves that are up to six inches long and up to five inches wide. Shreve oak tolerates shade and low water levels and grows best when grown at elevations of 165 feet to 3085 feet.
Mexican blue oak is part of the white oak group and is considered a small evergreen tree or a large shrub, depending on its size. This oak tree can reach up to 115 feet in height and has a trunk that can measure up to five feet in diameter. With a height of 65 to 100 feet, the scarlet oak is impressive, but it's still considered a medium-sized oak. Because of all the forests in North America, you can find just about every tree you can think of if you know where to look.
Also called white-leaved oak, this tree can be a large shrub or a small tree, growing to about 30 feet tall. The name chestnut comes from the fact that it shares some visual characteristics with chestnut trees. As you may have noticed, oak is one of the few trees on this list that prefers alkaline soils. Acorns are also sweet and therefore popular with wildlife and humans, and the tree grows well even on rocky or sandy soils.
In Japan, oak bark is often used to make drums because its density gives the instrument the perfect sound. White oak can live for centuries, making it rich in history and the dominant tree in many landscapes. I have two huge oak trees with long trunks, the canopy is as wide as the trees are tall, the long, spreading branches point slightly downwards, the acorns are small and short, the leaves look like those of a white oak, but the trunks are tall and long, the bark is almost greyish white and it has vertical forests.
