Quercus palustris
| Quercus palustris | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 82' |
| Width: | 26' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Quercus palustris (common name: pin 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. Average germination rate is about 68%[1]. 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[2]. 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[3][2]. Lime tolerant[4]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[5]. Withstands atmospheric pollution[1]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[5].
A fairly fast growing tree[5], it is occasionally cultivated for timber in eastern central Europe[6]. It coppices fairly well[1]. The tree seldom lives longer than 150 - 200 years in the wild, commencing to bear seeds when 15 - 25 years old[7]. Seed production is cyclic, a year of high yields being followed by 2 - 3 years of low yields[7]. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed taking two summers to ripen[7].
There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value[5].
Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young[2]. This species has a relatively shallow tap-root, making it easier to transplant[8].
Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[5].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[5].
Range: North-eastern and Central N. America - Massachusetts to Michigan, Virginia and Arkansas.
Habitat: Deep rich soils[1][7] in swampy woods and bottoms at low elevations[9]. Often found in wet, poorly drained claypan soils typical of floodplains, tolerating short periods of spring flooding[7].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[10]. The seed is about 15mm long[5], it can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out 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.
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Medicinal: An infusion of the inner bark has been used to treat intestinal pains[11].
Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[12].
Usage: A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[13].
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[12]. A black ink is made from the galls[8].
Wood - strong, hard, coarse grained, heavy, often knotty owing to the persistence of many small limbs[14][15][16][17][1]. It weighs 43lb per cubic foot[1]. It is occasionally used for shingles, clap-boards, furniture, wooden nails etc and as a fuel[14][15][16][17][1][7].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in medium and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.