New to the forum and my first post and in need of help from the experts.
I have an oak tree on my property in central New Jersey. The family loves it but not the neighbors. Currently raining down acorns all around us. Need help identifying the type of oak and the tree's age. My guess is one of the four noted below. The photos of; trunk, leaves, outer core sample, acorns are included. The circumference of the tree is 133 inches around at 4.5 feet off the ground.
Some observations, the inner bark doesn't appear yellow and the acorns have a shallow cap (pics below). Never seen it in a brazen red autumn colors (could just be NJ pollution).
I appreciate your help, thank you in advance!
Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea Muenchhausen)
Black oak (Quercus velutina Lamarck)
Northern red oak (Quercus rubra Linnaeus)
Pin oak (Quercus palustris Muenchhausen)
Photo album of the tree
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1967.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236395)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1966.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236247)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1950.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236067)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1953.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236076)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1968.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236114)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1954.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236078)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1955.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236346)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1957.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236316)
Didn't notice any yellow in the outer core sample.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1977.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236370)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1979.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236380)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/44149/IMG_1981.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1477236385)
Black Oak,Quercus velutina
Welcome to the forum.
There are other that are more versed in trees then I am. Don't go running with what I said. ;D WDH will be along to name it.
pin oak would be my guess :) but i agree wdh will have the answer :)
I would be inclined to call it Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea). The bark on yours looks a little deeper fissured than the one pictured on the Virginia Tech fact sheet but everything else looks spot on.
I'm going out on a limb. By the looks of the leaves and the acorns I say its a pin oak.
placement of the acorns is what made me say pin oak too :)
Appreciate the responses thus far....thank you.
I'd go with pin oak, the bases of the leaves are mostly flat instead of more of a triangular shape of the scarlet. And it looks like the branches of the tree are "hanging" down and most of the pin oaks I've seen have branches that grow more downward from the trunk.
Definitely not scarlet oak. Acorns are wrong. Black oak has a bright orange inner bark. The one in the pic does not. Pin oak has deeply cut leaves and the acorns are striated with a shallow cup. The acorns in the pic are clearly striated, and the leaves are deeply cut. My money is on pin oak.
Thank you for the education on scarlet and pin oaks.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/image~173.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1477273493) This is the Pin Oak from VT's fact sheet.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/image~175.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1477273498) Scarlet Oak from VT.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22883/image~174.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1477273497) This Scarlet Oak acorn lacks the striations that WDH mentioned. The acorns on the VT fact sheet are green and I did not notice the striations that are apparent on the brown acorns pictured in the original post.
i knew wdh would know the answer ;D 8) :)
Great forum and again appreciate the input. Feeling confident, based on all your feedback and looking closer at pictures and comparing it to the tree that its a Pin Oak.
As for aging saw the following; take circumference measurement 4.5 feet up and got 133 inches. Circumference /3.14 = 42.4 diameter * growth factor 3.0 = 127 year. Hope this is somewhat accurate. Thanks
The concentric circles around the tip of the scarlet oak acorn is very diagnostic and limited to only scarlet oak. The acorn cup of scarlet oak is bowl shaped and encloses about 1/2 the nut. Shumard oak has deeply cut leaves and an acorn that is saucer shaped (shallow). The shumard acorn is a good bit larger than the pin oak acorn, and it is not striated. The acorn in the pic in this post shows the striations radiating down and around from the tip.
Also, at least here in the South, scarlet oak and shumard has very distinct silver streaks that run up the bark.
Pin oak always has lower branches that grown in a downward angle and often create a fair amount of dead wood. The lower branches often need to be cut so that they are not a hazard to people walking under the tree. Acorns on pin oak are very small ( the size of a pea ) . If you see a pin oak you will know that it is not a tree for a parking lot area where people or cars come in close proximity to the lower branches. The tree in your picture does not have those characteristics.
Pin oaks can't shed their leaves during a drought. That's why the branches droop...to protect the ground under the tree from losing moisture. When I lived in Decatur, IL I had the largest pin oak in Macon Co. in my yard. Two lightning strikes and a $500 bill from the arborist took care of that one. Gary
Interesting, I suppose that is why they tend to develop a lot of dead wood as well.