Swamp white oak

Scientific name: Quercus bicolor

This variation on the white oak is found throughout Ohio and the Midwestern United States, generally in wet woods, wetlands, and near bodies of water. Its species name, bicolor, is so given for the contrast between the two sides of its leaves – the top is green while the bottom is the whitest of all the white oak family of trees. The tree can grow near 70 feet tall and be 60 feet wide in adulthood. Grown from its acorn seeds after about six months, the swamp white oak bears its own seeds in about 20 years, and the maximum lifespan of the tree is about 300 years. Swamp white oak trees were chosen to be planted around the two reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Photo from Grandview Heights TreePlotter.

Swamp white oak trees are important for lumber production, being used for cabinets, fencing, and boats.

Photo from OPLIN's What Tree is It?

Photo from OPLIN's What Tree is It?

Unusually for an oak tree, the dark brown bark of the swamp white oak peels off into curls which exposes a lighter shade of bark below.

Photo from OPLIN's What Tree is It?