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 commercial demand for the heavy and hard wood.
1. The Silviculture of Pin Oak
Steve Nix
Pin oak acorns are an important food for mallards and wood ducks during their fall migration. Pin and other bottom-land oaks are the primary tree species in bottom-land duck-hunting areas. The wood of pin oak is similar to that of northern red oak, and pin oak lumber is marketed under the general designation of "red oak." The occurrence of numerous small knots in the wood of many pin oak trees limits its use for high quality products, however. Pin oak transplants well, and because of its rapid growth, large symmetrical crown, and scarlet fall colorations, it is commonly planted as a shade or ornamental tree. Still, the tree is increasingly out of favor with landscapers and urban foresters.
2. The Images of Pin Oak
Forestryimages.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 commonly called swamp oak, water oak, and swamp Spanish 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.
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.
