Description

Do you follow Doug Tallamy? This one’s for you! Per the Native Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder, 477 species of butterflies and moths use Quercus as a caterpillar host plant: https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants/2804 Popular and long-lived shade tree with a wide-spreading rounded crown and numerous horizontal branches. Straight trunk with light grey bark. Twigs slender to stout, gray to reddish green with star-shaped pith. Light green, round-lobed leaves turn burgundy in fall and remain on the tree into winter. Insignificant yellowish-green flowers in separate male and female catkins appear in spring shortly after the leaves emerge. Oval acorns with warty-scaled cups. Attracts birds, butterflies. Adapts to a wide variety of soil conditions with good drought tolerance. Height: 50-80 ft. Spread: 50-80 ft. Family: Fagaceae Bloom time: May Sun: full sun Water: dry to medium Shade tree According to Rutgers University, Quercus sp. are “occasionally severely damaged” by deer. photo credit: Dcrjsr