Become an EXPERT on the White Oak in Under 5 Minutes!

The white oak, Quercus alba, is a highly important species of oak for a variety of reasons. It is a producer of high-quality mast in the form of acorns that are eaten by a wide array of mammals and birds. It is also a host plant to hundreds of species of caterpillars and produces high quality wood that is used for purposes ranging from whiskey barrels to boats. Learn how to identify the white oak using leaf, bark, and acorn characteristics, the species it may be confused with, where it lives and how it grows, and some fun facts about the white oak and other oaks in the white oak group.

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Chapters:
0:00 The Oaks are a Super Important Group of Trees!
0:19 White Oak, Quercus alba, Native Range, Typical Growing Conditions, Size, Growth Form
1:00 The White Oak Group, What Makes an Oak a Member of the White Oak Group, Key Features of Oaks in the White Oak Group
1:43 White Oak, Quercus alba, Identification by Leaf Characteristics, Leaf Size, Leaf Shape, Leaf Color, Fall Color
2:13 White Oak, Quercus alba, Identification by Bark Characteristics, Bark Color, Bark Ridges and Furrows, Bark Scaly and Flaking
2:25 White Oak, Quercus alba, Identification by Acorns, Acorn Size, Acorn Color, Acorn Maturity and Drop, Acorn Cap, Acorn Use by Wildlife
2:46 White Oak, Quercus alba, Key Features for Identification
2:54 Species that Might Be Confused with White Oak, Quercus alba – Bluff Oak, Durand Oak, Swamp White Oak, Bur Oak, English Oak
3:51 White Oak, Quercus alba, Timber Value and Importance, Lumber Uses, Whiskey and Bourbon Barrels, Decline Due to Low Regeneration and Causes
4:20 Oaks are Keystone Species In North America, Other Keystone Species

[davesafish]

I like the new field guide style. Thanks for all your videos.I have learned a lot!

[theamazingkimmoth]

The field guide style in this video is PERFECT! I appreciate the side-by-side to help with identification.

[Pushpullsqz]

Great source of information given in a short video

[snsnplpl]

If 'field guide' means pictures, then yes field guide me. I think more attention needs to be paid to the decline of the white oak from fungus, deer, and larvae that damage the acorns. Mature trees are being cut down, but they aren't being replaced

[cedarmyers]

I like the field guide format!
Any chance you could make a similar video on the red oak group? Although our northern red oaks are easier I've had some difficulty with black oak vs. pin oak, or others. Also wondering how many may be hybrids.

[TheJohtunnBandit]

Yay, thanks for mentioning the need for fire for many oaks!

[elisabethdowd]

I'm liking the field guide style of video. We have a long dead oak on our property. It must have been 40 feet high. I loved watching a hawk use it as a lookout post. After a storm a good portion broke off. Then pileated woodpeckers moved in to raise their families. Sadly, there were so many holes pecked into it, about 15 feet of trunk broke off. What's left is still standing but no more animals use it that I know of.

[janetconnors]

Love all your content! Thanks! Oh! My Amazon saved cart has about 8 of your website books in it. I just pop one in the cart when I'm ordering stuff...I'm gathering nature books to read this winter.

[karenholt]

I like these field guide style videos. When I learned about the different leaves on the same tree, I gave up trying to memorize how to identify this group. I need all the tips I can get!

[piaonomata]

I really like the field-guide style, including the "similar species" keys.

I'm also trying to remember if it was Dave Wagner or Doug Tallamy who said that if you're trying to increase biodiversity in your yard, the #1 best thing you can do is to plant an oak tree. It could have been either of them.

[laurahunt]

I like the new style - super helpful. I wish I could see the side-by-side of each whole leaf first, before then zooming in on the differentiating details. But hey, that's kinda like asking for slightly more hot fudge on an already wonderful scoop of ice cream.

[sannaericditsler]

Thanks for the video. Very interesting.

[edith]

Great video, would love to see more like this

[paulgroth]

I really like the way you have done this video, now if you could just send a dozen White Oak acorns to me that I could get started here on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest

[Inkling]

Thanks, I have a huge white oak in the wood next to me. Now I understand it a bit better. Judging by its diameter it is over 200 years old and is showing its age. Any advice about keeping it health would be much appreciated.

[rickyprice]

As someone who has struggled to ID trees before, I really appreciate the visual representation and lookalike differences. Great vid 👍

[gardeneroflight]

I really like this format! Visual info is always helpful. 🌎🌍🌏❤

[deepost]

Super format, especially the side by side comparisons of leaves and acorns. 13 oaks surround my house and this has been a mast year. I’ve taken four wheelbarrows full of acorns to the back of the property for the deer.

[ALMcK]

This is a perfect style video to learn from. Great job.

[CodMob]

All the talk about caterpillars led me to look up the number of species that exist. I was incredibly surprised to find numbers ranging from 110, 000 to 180, 000 different caterpillars. Mind blowing 🐛