Black Oak (Quercus velutina)
Height: 50 to 60 feet
Spread: 50 to 60 feet
Bloom Time: March to April
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Suggested Use: Shade Tree & Wildlife
Tolerate: Black Walnut and Clay Soils
Native to: Jefferson County
The Black Oak is a stately tree that brings the stoic stature of the White Oak together with the sweeping dramatic branching of the southern Live Oak.
When the Mingo Tribes first moved into the Jefferson County area they found the rugged terrain covered with the Black Oak. The trees were highly desired by the tribes in the area and later the settlers, as every 2 to 3 years the tree produces bumper crops of elliptic acorns 3/4” in size which are an important food source wildlife drawing in scores of deer, turkey, squirrel, grouse, and a variety of birds.
So important was the Black Oak that Colonel William Crawford used a large majestic specimen as a focal point when laying out the location for government buildings in Yohogania County, Virginia (Washington County, Pennsylvania) and he and Dr. Knight later used the tree as a shield and surrender point after the defeat at Sandusky. Bezaleel Wells found the trees so majestic that he located and founded the City of Canton based on the presences of a grove of Black Oaks. Visitors to the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site can rest beneath the shade of Black Oak that the President, Civil War General, and Appalachian Ohioan took refuge under to escape the afternoon sun.
The common name of Black Oaks derives from the dark and rich color of the deeply furrowed bark on mature trees that provides a nice contrast to the landscape especially when paired plants with opposing colors or textures such as alders, dogwoods, and snowberries. The scientific or Latin name calls upon the fine hairs on the buds which helps to distinguish younger trees from the Red Oak (Quercus rubra).
As previously mentioned, the acorns are an invaluable food source for wildlife, but the Black Oak is also a host plant to over 475 species of the Lepidopteran family. The caterpillars of these moths and butterflies provide an invaluable food source for song birds, tree frogs, and a variety of other animals that will cause the trees to come to life in song in the spring mornings and summer nights. ■
