The Red oak is a non-native tree of the UK and widely planted in parks and green spaces. It's native range is North America and it was introduced into the UK back in 1724. In Southern parts of the UK it has now naturalised.
VIDEO STUDY
PHOTO STUDY
It is a large deciduous tree capable of growing up to 30m tall and can live for up to 400 years. The Red oak is a fast-growing tree and can grow up to 2 metres per year in good conditions. In the Appalachians, they can be found up to altitudes of 1600m. It is not suited as a street tree as the roots can easily lift and split tarmac and paving slabs.
ENTIRE TREE
BARK & TRUNK
It's common name is the Red oak but it also goes by American red oak, Eastern red oak, and the Mountain red oak. In North America it is the state tree of New Jersey and the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island.
CANOPY
CROWN
 The buds are reddish, slightly ovate, taper to a point and mainly occur on the of the branches. The twigs are red-brown with light lenticels. The bark of the mature trees is quite smooth and has shiny stripes running all the way up and down the trunk. This is unique for oak trees and it really helps to get a good ID all year round.
BRANCHES & TWIGS
LEAVES
The leaves are alternate, deeply sinuate to lobed and the lobe ends are tapered. The leaf margin is smooth and the length of the leaves can be as much as 30cm and 25cm wide - which makes them some of the largest oak leaves. During the Autumn the leaf colour will change to a deep red colour - which is where it's common name comes from.
FLOWERS
FRUIT
Like most oak trees the Red oak is monoecious which means that both the male and female flowers are on the same tree but different parts. The male flowers are very showy catkins. which appear in April / May time. They are yellow / green in colour and dangle freely on the wind. The red female flowers are inconspicuous, and small in comparison and easily overlooked. They are pollinated by the wind and on a mature tree there will be tens of thousands of flowers.
BUDS
GROUND LITTER
The fruit is the iconic acorn and they take 2 years to fully mature. The acorns start off bright green and as they mature they turn brown in colour. The acorns are rounded, smooth, and range from 2cm to 4cm in length. Many animals rely on acorns and in some cases they help to spread them with their burrowing habits. Squirrels and Jays are often seen in the early Autumn collecting and hiding acorns.
OTHER USEFUL DATA
Picture
Brooke Bond tea (scanned from personal collection)
Picture
Carbon performance certificate by Treeconomics for Barcham Pro Trees
Picture
Carbon capture data by Treeconomics for Barcham Pro Trees
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES
QUICK FACTS
  • The Red oak is a non-native tree of the UK and widely planted in parks and green spaces
  • It's native range is North America and it was introduced into the UK back in 1724
  • In Southern parts of the UK it has now naturalised
  • It is a large deciduous tree capable of growing up to 30m tall and can live for up to 400 years
  • The Red oak is a fast-growing tree and can grow up to 2 metres per year in good conditions
  • In the Appalachians, they can be found up to altitudes of 1600m
  • It is not suited as a street tree as the roots can easily lift and split tarmac and paving slabs
  • It's common name is the Red oak but it also goes by American red oak, Eastern red oak, and the Mountain red oak
  • In North America it is the state tree of New Jersey and the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island
  •  The buds are reddish, slightly ovate, taper to a point and mainly occur on the of the branches
  • The twigs are red-brown with light lenticels
  • The bark of the mature trees is quite smooth and has shiny stripes running all the way up and down the trunk
  • The leaves are alternate, deeply sinuate to lobed and the lobe ends are tapered
  • The leaf margin is smooth and the length of the leaves can be as much as 30cm and 25cm wide
  • During the Autumn the leaf colour will change to a deep red colour - which is where it's common name comes from
  • Like most oak trees the Red oak is monoecious which means that both the male and female flowers are on the same tree but different parts
  • The male flowers are very showy catkins. which appear in April / May time
  • They are yellow / green in colour and dangle freely on the wind
  • The red female flowers are inconspicuous, and small in comparison and easily overlooked
  • They are pollinated by the wind and on a mature tree there will be tens of thousands of flowers
  • The fruit is the iconic acorn and they take 2 years to fully mature
  • The acorns start off bright green and as they mature they turn brown in colour
  • The acorns are rounded, smooth, and range from 2cm to 4cm in length
  • Many animals rely on acorns and in some cases they help to spread them with their burrowing habits
  • Squirrels and Jays are often seen in the early Autumn collecting and hiding acorns
SIMILAR LOOKING TREES
ENGLISH OAK
LUCOMBE OAK
TURKEY OAK
PLEASE LEAF ME ANY FEEDBACK / COMMENTS
If there is anything out of place or wrong please contact me. Equally if there is anything you wish to add please let me know. The more information we have about Red oak the better. Many thanks!