Interestingly, pin oak is named for a physical characteristic where small, thin, dead branches stick out like pins from the main trunk. Pin oak is among the most widely planted native oaks in the urban landscape and the third most common street tree in New York City. It tolerates drought, poor soils and is easy to transplant. The tree is naturally found throughout the Ohio River Basin with very little demand for the heavy and hard wood.
1. The Silviculture of Pin Oak
R. Merrilees, Illustrator
Pin oak is a fast-growing, moderately large tree found on bottom lands or moist uplands, often on poorly drained clay soils. Best development is in the Ohio Valley. The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood. Pin oak transplants well and is tolerant of the many stresses of the urban environment, so has become a favored tree for streets and landscapes.
2. The Images of Pin Oak
P. Wray/Bugwood.org
Forestryimages.org provides several images of parts of Pin oak. The tree is a hardwood and the lineal taxonomy is Magnoliopsida > Fagales > Fagaceae > Quercus palustris. Pin oak is also called red oak.
3. The Range of Pin Oak
USFS
Pin oak grows from southwestern New England west to extreme southern Ontario, southern Michigan, northern Illinois, and Iowa; south to Missouri, eastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma; then east to central Arkansas, Tennessee, central North Carolina, and Virginia.
4. How to Manage Pin Oak in the Landscape
Steve Nix
Pin oak is among the most widely planted native oaks in the urban landscape, the third most common street tree in New York City. It tolerates drought, poor soils and is easy to transplant. It is popular because of an attractive shape and trunk. The green, glossy leaves show brilliant red to bronze fall color. In many cases the pin oak is planted on inappropriate sites.
5. Pin Oak at Virginia Tech
Leaf: Alternate, simple, 3 to 6 inches long, oval in outline with 5 to 9 bristle-tipped lobes and irregularly deep sinuses that extend nearly to the midrib. Major lobes form a U-shape. Bright green above and pale below with axillary tifts.Twig: Slender, red-brown in color and quite lustrous with multiple terminal buds that are small, pointed, and chestnut brown.
