Water Oak

Quercus nigra

Available Sizes: 3g, 7g

Tree
Max Size: 80′ tall x 50′ wide
Average Size: 65′ tall x 35′ wide

Loam, Sand
Full Sun, Part Shade
Usually Moist, Moist to Dry
No Salt Tolerance

AKA: Black Oak, North American Barren Oak, Possum Oak

This deciduous oak could be considered semi-evergreen and has a yellow fall color. It blooms with inconspicuous flowers in the spring, and the acorns ripen in the fall. It makes a good shade tree in a landscape. The acorns are eaten by squirrels, turkeys, and deer. It is a larval host plant for Horace’s dusky wing (Erynnis horactius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) butterflies.

The bark of the oak can be used to make dyes and paints. The barks and galls have also long been used to create a permanent ink. Oak medicines are incredibly varied; they contain tannin, which has been shown to be antiviral, antiseptic, and antitumor; various Indigenous practices worldwide have ascribed medicinal uses to various parts of the tree.