Pin Oak
Leaf Characteristics
- broad, flat
- simple
- pinnately lobed
- bristle tips
- deeply lobed
- middle lobe not narrow
- leaves small, 3" to 5" long
- side lobes not broad toward tips
Fruit Characteristics
- acorn
- stalk short, acorn fringeless
- acorn up to 1" long
- cup scales not swollen, mostly flat
- cup shallow
- acorn round
Pin Oak
Quercus palustris
The mature tree is distinctive from a distance with its ascending upper branches, horizontal middle branches, and drooping lower branches. The round acorns are the smallest of Ohio's oak trees. The Pin Oak grows in wet, often poorly drained soils of bottomlands and swamps. Although widely distributed throughout Ohio, it probably is most abundant in the southwestern part of the state. The strong, close-grained woods warps and checks badly in drying and has limited uses. Various wildlife, including Wood Ducks, feed on the acorns.
Tree Size
height 40' - 70'
diameter 1' - 3'
Bark