Red Oak         KWER-kus RU-bra

• Deciduous tree, 60-75 ft (15-23 m), rounded, ascending, usually massive branches, tends to branch close to the ground.  Leaves alternate, simple, 7-11 lobes, base wedge shaped or sometimes rounded.  Fall color from yellow-brown (often) to russet-red and bright red (rare).  Acorn 2-2.5 cm long, enclosed at the base in a flat, thick, saucer-like cup.  (One author remarked that red oak "has no cup, it has a saucer".)  New leaves are red in spring.
• Sun.  Transplants readily because of negligible taproot.  Best in sandy loam soils which are well drained and on the acid side.  Withstands polluted air.  Fairly fast growing, 60 cm per year (Dirr, p. 703).
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native from Nova Scotia to Pennsylvania, west to Minnesota and Iowa.  The State Tree of New Jersey.
• rubra: Latin, red.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: a large, fine specimen on the east side of the MU Quad.