pin oak

Quercus palustris is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 18–22 metres (59–72 feet) tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (3+1⁄2 ft) in diameter. It has an 8–14 m (26–46 ft) spread. A 10-year-old tree grown in full sun will be about 8 m (26 ft) tall. Young trees have a straight, columnar trunk with smooth bark and a pyramidal canopy. By the time the tree is 40 years old, it develops more rough bark with a loose, spreading canopy. This canopy is considered one of the most distinctive features of the pin oak: the upper branches point upwards, the middle branches are at right angles to the trunk, and the lower branches droop downwards. The leaves are 5–16 centimetres (2–6+1⁄4 inches) long and 5–12 cm (2–4+3⁄4 in) broad, lobed, with five or seven lobes. Each lobe has five to seven bristle-tipped teeth. The sinuses are typically U-shaped and extremely deep cut. In fact, roughly the same amount of sinus area exists as actual leaf area. The leaf is mostly hairless, except for a very characteristic tuft of pale orange-brown down on the lower surface where each lobe vein joins the central vein. Overall autumn leaf coloration is generally bronze, though individual leaves may be red for a time, and is not considered particularly distinctive. …

Q. palustris is mainly distributed in the eastern and central United States from Connecticut in the northeast, west to eastern Oklahoma and Kansas, and south to Georgia. It is also native in the extreme south of Ontario, Canada. The pin oak is also well adapted to life in England and Australia (where it has been introduced), and is quite widespread across the Australian continent, especially in the cooler southern States such as Victoria and New South Wales. It is also well adapted to life in South Africa and Argentina, especially in the Río de la Plata region. It is naturally a wetland tree, confined to acidic soils, and does not tolerate limestone or sandy Florida soil, and grows at low altitudes from sea level up to 350 m (1,148 ft). It grows primarily on level or nearly level, poorly drained, alluvial floodplain and river-bottom soils with high clay content. They are usually found on sites that flood intermittently during the dormant season, but do not ordinarily flood during the growing season. They do not grow on the lowest, most poorly drained sites that may be covered with standing water through much of the growing season. However, they do grow extensively on poorly drained upland "pin oak flats" on the glacial till plains of southwestern Ohio, southern Illinois and Indiana, and northern Missouri. …

In its native range, pin oak is the most commonly used landscaping oak along with northern red oak due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance. However, as it is naturally adapted to moist, acidic soils, it may develop a condition known as iron chlorosis on less suitable locations, causing the tree to shed leaves during the growing season and rot from the top down. Mature pin oaks are often too big to treat and this nutrient deficiency on alkaline soil may eventually kill them. The drooping lower branches can also be a problem, interfering with access for traffic and pedestrians. It is also cultivated in parks and large gardens in the United Kingdom, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The wood is generally marketed as red oak, but is of significantly inferior quality, being somewhat weaker, often with many small knots. The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood. The bark was used by some Native American tribes to make a drink for treatment of intestinal pain.