But Oak is a magnificent large tree with a handsome coarse texture of foliage, bark, and branching. It is common and widespread in the Midwestern US as a forest tree, savannah tree, and sometimes grows in open bottomlands and fields. Its native range is from eastern Texas up to the Dakotas and southern Manitoba, over to southeast Ontario, spots in New England and New York, central and western Pennsylvania and western Maryland over to central Tennessee. Its unique leaves are widest near the end and they develop a golden brown fall color. The brown bark is thick and heavily furrowed and withstands prairie fires. It bears large acorns about 1.25 inches long or wide with burly fringed cups each year, like other members of the White Oak subgroup. I found one largest Bur Oak acorn that is 1 3/4 inches wide from a tree planted in southeast PA that may a cultivar selection. It grows in many soils from draining wet to dry, to very acid to alkaline, about pH 4.5 to 8.0. It is slow growing of about 3/4 foot/year and lives about 200 to 300 years, even to 500. It develops a big taproot, so it is difficult to transplant, but it can be done in early spring. I found a about 18 feet high tree in a nursery that looks like it might have grown about 1 to 1.5 feet/year so far. It is offered by some large, diverse nurseries as a B&B plant and usually in big containers from native plant nurseries. It is being planted in some parks, land preserves, and native plant restorations.

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The state tree of Iowa.

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