How to ID Oak Trees
- 1). Examine the shape of an oak tree leaf to tell the difference between white oaks and red oaks. White oaks usually have three, and sometimes four, softly rounded lobes, whereas red oaks display leaves with five to eight sharply spiked lobes.
- 2). Observe the brilliantly colored foliage during the autumn months. Oak trees are deciduous, which means that their leaves die and turn from green to shades of yellow, red, purple and brown during fall. Unlike red oaks, white oaks tend to display a more subdued purplish color and often retain their leaves throughout winter before losing them to new growth during spring.
- 3). Look at the shape of the canopy. Oak trees spread their limbs out in all directions, with knotty twisted branches and twigs, resembling scary looking trees depicted in horror movies. Groups of buds about 6 inches long sprout at the twig ends during mid- to late-spring. These buds develop both male and female flowers later on, and often produce acorns.
- 4). Taste an acorn; red oak acorns usually have an unpleasant bitter taste while white oak acorns taste somewhat nutty.
- 5). Examine the physical characteristics of the deeply grooved grayish bark. White oaks display small oblong sections of bark about 1/2 to 3/4 inches long, and you can easily pick off the bark with your fingernails, whereas red oak bark sections are wider and longer, and the bark is much harder.
- 6). Look at the shape of the tree. Mature oak trunk diameters start at about 6 feet and can grow to enormous dimensions over time. The canopy usually starts 6 to 8 feet above the ground and is often broader than the height of the tree; this provides a wonderful cool, oxygen--rich, shady rest area during hot summer months. While a few rare species of oaks develop a somewhat stunted growth, most mature oak trees are 50 to 100 feet tall.