Low riskEdible cooked
Northern red oak
Quercus rubra
Pointed bristle-tipped lobes. Acorns are bitter and need longer leaching than white oak.
- Marks
- Bristle tips; ski-track bark
- Size
- 70–90 ft
- Habitat
- Mixed hardwood slopes.
- Season
- Acorns ripen the second year, fall.
- Frequency
- common
Leaves with 7–11 pointed lobes tipped by a hairlike bristle. Bark has shiny vertical ski-tracks. Acorns have a flat shallow cap.
Uses
Firewood, flooring. Acorn meal after thorough leaching. Deer magnet.
Lookalikes
White oak
Quercus alba
Rounded lobes, light bark. The best wild starch in these woods — acorns leach sweet.
Low riskEdible cooked