Quercus muehlenbergii

chinkapin oak, chinquapin oak, chestnut oak, yellow chestnut oak, rock chestnut oak, yellow oak, rock oak
Family

Fagaceae

Leaf Arrangement

alternate

Leaf Attachment

petiolate

Leaf Margin

dentate, lobed, serrate, toothed, undulate

Leaf Type

simple

Leaf Shape

oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate

Growth Form

tree

Flower Month

April, May, October

Height (meters)

25.0

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Unarmed

Origin

native

Lifespan

perennial

Leaf Retention

Deciduous


Wetland Class

FAC

Field Characters

Narrow, not fuzzy leaves.

Animal Use

Attracts hummingbirds, birds, and butterflies. Larval host for the gray hairstreak.

Natural History

Eastern North America from Vermont, New York, and southern Ontario south across the eastern US as far west as Oklahoma, Texas, and southeastern New Mexico, south into northeastern Mexico as far south as Nuevo Leon and Hidalgo. In Texas, native from the northeast southwest across central Texas, with a separate population in far west Texas.

Habitat

Limestone and calcareous soils in mixed deciduous and pine forests. Calcareous bluffs and upland woods, often near the forest edge, or sometimes in valleys and then usually near limestone.

Plant Uses

All of the white oaks are heavy, very hard, and strong. The wood is subject to large shrinkage during seasoning, and extra care must be taken to avoid checking and warping. Pores of the heartwood are impervious to liquids, making white oak the only successful wood for use as tight cooperage. Large amounts of higher grades are used for bourbon barrels. The heartwood is comparatively decay resistant, more so than that of red oaks. White oaks are above average in all machining operations except shaping. All oaks in the white oak group share just about the same properties and uses. Most white oak is made into lumber for flooring, furniture, tight cooperage, millwork, timbers, handles, boxes, and crates. Perhaps the largest amounts go into high-quality flooring, barrels, kegs, and casks. It is prized for use of construction of ships and boats.