Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum

Scientific name: Quercus macrocarpa

Common name: bur oak

Native: Yes

Native range: Native to the central United States and parts of south central Canada [1,2].

Distribution in North America: Click to view the USDA Plants Database page for Q. macrocarpa.

USDA Zones: 3-8 [1]

Maximum age: Lives to approximately 300 years on average [5], but may live up to 400 years, all the while producing seed even in old age [3].

Ecology: The bur oak hosts a variety of herbivorous insects, including caterpillars and beetles, gall-forming insects, and many species of fungi [1,2]. The acorns are eaten by squirrels, chipmunks, ducks, rabbits, and deer [1]. It hosts a handful of native moth species, including the pink-striped oakworm moth (Anisota virginiensis), the Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus), and the io moth (Automeris io) [6].

Ethnobotany: The bur oak is a common ornamental tree in both suburban and urban plantings [1,2]. Many Indigenous American groups, including the Haudenosaunee, use various parts of the tree to make medicines, the acorns for culinary purposes, and the young twigs to make toys [2,4].