Adkins Arboretum’s Native Tree of the Year Program highlights the ecological and
ornamental value of native trees to promote their protection in natural areas and
use in cultivated landscapes.
There’s a reason they call it the mighty oak. It is a dignified tree with a long romantic, economic, and ecological history—all arising from that little acorn. Selecting the white oak (Quercus alba) as the Adkins Arboretum 2012 Tree of the Year was a natural choice because this oak is already revered as the state tree of Maryland. (The historic Wye Oak and former State Large Tree Champion was once located only a few miles from the Arboretum.) But most important of all, woven among the branches of the white oak are livelihoods and folklore and an ecological refuge for Delmarva’s animals and insects.
Quercus alba, one of many trees belonging to the beech family (Fagaceae), can grow to be a majestic specimen that is often wider than it is tall. Under ideal conditions, this slow grower can reach 100 feet in height, thriving in a wide range of soils and doing exceptionally well in drier locations. In A Natural History of Trees, author Donald Culross Peattie writes, “… the fortunate possessor of an old White Oak owns a sort of second home, an outdoor mansion of shade and greenery and leafy music. So deep is the taproot of such a tree, so wide the thrust of the innumerable horizontal roots, that if one could see its whole underground system this would look like a reflection, somewhat foreshortened, of the giant above ground.”
The white oak ranges from Maine to northern Florida, with the largest trees found in Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The acorns it produces have taken over as a major food source for squirrels, turkey, quail, raccoons, woodpeckers, and a host of other wildlife since the decline of the American chestnut. According to Dr. Doug Tallamy, in his book Bringing Nature Home, a single white oak tree is a mini-universe to thousands of insects, including more than 500 butterfly and moth species. He writes, “Oaks are the quintessential wildlife plants; no other plant genus supports more species of Lepidoptera (butterfly), thus providing more types of bird food, than the mighty oak.”
Historically, white oak has been used in shipbuilding, the flooring and furniture industries, for basket-making, and to make barrels for wine and whiskey. In northern Cecil County, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, the Day Basket Factory is still making baskets from split white oak, much as they have done since 1876. A dying art, white oak basket-making is kept alive through grassroots local artisans. The acorns of oaks, high in tannic acid, are used in leather tanning. Native American people collected acorns and made flour from them through a process of leaching out the tannic acid.
Come celebrate the white oak at Adkins Arboretum. The Native Plant Nursery will offer for sale white oak trees of all sizes in the coming year. In addition, at the Arbor Day Run on April 7, white oak seedlings will be given to participants as awards that are more environmentally friendly than medals or T-shirts. Several children’s programs this summer will focus on the white oak, and a walk focusing on big trees, planned for June to highlight the Arboretum’s largest species, will include this mighty tree.
The Arboretum gift shop offers many books on trees, one being Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo, an intimate account of looking—really looking—at trees. Another recommendation is Peattie’s book, A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America. In this enjoyable read, each tree is treated like an old friend. Finally, Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home is the book to learn how native insects are struggling with the proliferation of non-native plants in our landscapes.
