Creative Woodworks & crafts 2005-08, страница 44

White Oak Group: White oak, Que reus alba Swamp white oak, Quercus bkolor Chestnut oak, Quercus prinus Post oak, Quercus siallata

White Oak

Tills is far from a complete list of species in this group, but these represent the most commercially valuable. As mentioned in the profile on ihe red oak group in the previous issue, the primary distinction between ihe groups is thai the leaves of Lhe white oak group DO NOT have any bristles on their tips, whether lobed or not, and their acorns are sweeter than those in the red oak group.

Representatives of this group can be found growing in nearly any climate and soil type, but White Oalc, Quercus alba, ( which is the primary species of this profile), is more selective. Its range is from southern Maine westward to lower Minnesota and western Iowa, southward to eastern Texas, and eastward to the coast of Georgia.

Given its preference for rich, well-drained soil, lower elevations, and no bottom land, white oal< can grow^: anywhere from roadsides to deep woods, and its proximity to competing trees determines its shape. As seen in the photo, when there is no competition present, it 1ms a short, heavy trunk with a wide, spreading crown. It is relatively slow growing and long lived, with some specimens that are in excess of 200 years old.

44 ♦ Creative Woodworks £> Crstts A_gust 2005

When found in woodlots, it rises, reaching lor sunlight with a longer and more slender trunk

White Oak can be found in sizes ranging from slender poles to specimens exceeding 100 feet tall with trunks of more than four feet in diameter at breast height (DBM). Chestnut Oak, Que reus prinus, grows in the same areas as the White Oak, but seldom attains the same trunk diameter, as it is somewhat more slender in growth characteristics. Swamp White Oak, Quercus tricolor, is also a large tree, often growing larger than. White, but as its name implies, it prefers bottomland and can tolerate flooding. Post Oak is a smaller species that is found in the lower eastern half of the U.S.

MMfU