Quercus muehlenbergii
| Quercus muehlenbergii | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 66' |
| Width: | 33' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Quercus muehlenbergii (common name: yellow chestnut oak)
Propagation: Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees[1]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.
Cultivation: Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[2][1]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[3]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[3].
Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter[3].
Growth is fairly rapid for an oak[4], especially when the tree is young, though it slows down with age[5]. Seed production is cyclic, a year with high yields is followed by 2 - 3 years of light crops[5]. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year[3][5].
Q. muhlenbergii brayi (Small.)Sarg. has somewhat larger seeds than the type, sometimes 3cm long[4].
Closely related to Q. prinus[1]. Trees are often confused with Q. prinus, Q. prinoides and Q. michauxii[3].
Trees respond well to coppicing[6].
Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young[1].
Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[3].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
Range: Eastern N. America - Vermont and Ontario to Minnesota, Nebraska, Alabama and Texas.
Habitat: Dry calcareous slopes and ridges, or on rich bottoms[7]. Well-drained uplands[4], favouring limestone soils and avoiding acid soils[5].
Edibility: Seed - cooked. It is up to 18mm long[4]. The seed contains very little bitter tannin, it is quite sweet and rather pleasant eating[8][4]. Tastes nice when baked in an oven[8]. Any bitter seeds can be leached by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency
Roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Medicinal: An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of vomiting[9].
Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[10].
Usage: A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[11].
Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff[10].
Wood - heavy, very hard, strong, close grained, durable. It weighs 53lb per cubic foot[4]. Not abundant enough to be used commercially, it is used for fencing, cooperage etc and makes an excellent fuel[12][6][5].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in medium and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Seed Ripens: Late Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Also Known As: Q. acuminata. non Roxb. Q. prinus acuminata.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vines, Robert. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press, 1987.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.