Pin Oak
10 September 2020
Pin oak (Quercus palustris) belongs to the Fagaceae family. Its Latin name comes from the environment in which it has been described and named for the first time by the botanist Otto von Munchhausen in 1770.
Deciduous tree, Pin oak high is between 25 and 30 meters and its lifespan is between 150 and 200 years. Its trunk is tall and narrow and its crown is pyramid shaped in the first years. Leaves are 5 to 10cm long with lobes deeply indented and ended with a thin point. Acorns, housed in cupulas very flattened, are small (1 to 1,5cm long) and spherical.
Natural area of geographic dispersion
Its natural area of geographic dispersion extends in the eastern part of the USA (Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Carolina, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia) and in the south part of the Province of Ontario in Canada.
It was introduced to France in the 17th century in parks and gardens as ornamental tree. Since the end of the 19th century, it is also used as straight line tree and planted in forest with Red oak (Quercus rubra). In France, Pin oak is mainly found in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Centre-Val de Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Uses of Pin oak
Pin oak is used in marquetry, cabinetwork and interior design. Its wood does not suit for external use because it doesn’t have a natural resistance. Pin oak also does not suit for cooperage due to the absence, or to the low presence, of tyloses in its heartwood.
Pin oak particularities
Pin oak is a fast-growing tree. In over 10 years, it grows up to 10 to 12 meters with a 40cm trunk circumference. That is why Pin oak is used as ornamental and straight line tree.
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