Red Oak - Quercus rubra

The red oak is one of the largest and most important timber trees in Iowa.  One of the fastest growing of the oaks, it attains a height of 70 to 80 feet and a diameter of two to three feet.  It has a wide, spreading headwith fewfar reaching branches.  Found growing over southeastern Canada and the northeasternUnited States, it reaches west to central Minnesota, eastern Nebraska andKansas.  It is found over most of Iowa on a variety of soils, except on thedrier clay uplands.  It prefers moist, rich soils on north, east or northeastexposures.

The tree has a single, lobed leaf with seven to eleven pointed or bristly-tipped lobes.  The lobe sinuses reach one-half way to mid-vein.  The leaves are thin, firm, dull green above, yellow-green below, varying considerably.

The fruit is a large, broad, rounded acorn with a very shallow disk-like or saucer-shaped cup or cap.

The twigs are small, slender, greenish brown to dark brown.  On young branches the bark is smooth and gray to greenish.  On the trunk i tbreaks into long, narrow, shallow ridges flat and smooth on top.  The unde rbark is light red.