Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is white oak, Quercus alba, pictured in the photo below.
White oak is a very commonly found throughout Maryland. In fact, in 1941, white oak was designated the Maryland State Tree.
The white oak is found in a variety of different habitats, although it is localized to the eastern regions of the United States. It’s a wonderful shade tree, reaching 80-100′ tall and 60′ wide. The tree leafs out in April, offering cool comfort in the Summer.
Sometime around its 50th year, a white oak will begin to produce acorns, up to 10,000 annually. The acorns are quick to sprout soon after they fall to the ground. White oak acorns are sweet, and are important to the diet of over 80 species of birds and mammals. University of Delaware Professor and author Doug Tallamy states that the white oak tree is the most powerful plant as it supports 534 different species of butterfly and moth caterpillars.
Male and female flowers grow on the same white oak tree. The male flowers are yellow-green drooping clusters, while the female flowers are small, red, and without petals. Male flowers become elongated catkins containing pollen grains that are released into the wind. After the pollen is released, the whole catkin is promptly shed. Oak trees are wind pollinated, but birds and animals can also help the pollen disperse by moving the reproductive products around.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
