Native Deciduous Hardwood Tree
Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry, Moist, Wet
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Various soils & moisture conditions. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Caliche type, Limestone-based
Bloom Color: Yellow, Green, Brown
Bloom Time: Mar, Apr, May
Fruit Type: Acorn Nut
Size Notes: Up to about 150 feet tall
Attracts: Attracts songbirds, ground birds and mammals, butterflies
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Edward's Hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii) and Horace's Duskywing butterfly
Oaks support over 500 species of beneficial insects!
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Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) - Bur oak is a large, deciduous tree with a very wide, open crown. Usually wider than tall, the tree can exceed 100 ft. in height and width. The massive trunk supports heavy, horizontal limbs and rough, deep-ridged bark. Leaves up to 9 inches long with a central midrib from which branch veins lead into rounded lobes. Lobes are separated by deep sinuses reaching, in some cases, to within 1/2 inch of the midrib. Lobes beyond the midpoint of the blade are wavy margined and longer and broader than those toward the base. Acorns are large, up to 1 1/2 inches broad with 1/4 to more than 1/2 of the acorn enclosed in the cup. Cup with coarse scales and a fringed margin.
The acorns of this species, distinguished by very deep fringed cups, are the largest of all native oaks. The common name (sometimes spelled "Burr") describes the cup of the acorn, which slightly resembles the spiny bur of a chestnut. Bur Oak is the northernmost New World oak. In the West, it is a pioneer tree, bordering and invading the prairie grassland. Planted for shade, ornament, and shelter belts. Bur oak extends farther north than any other oak species and becomes shrubby at the northern and eastern limits of its range.
Source: www.wildflower.org