{"id":20647,"date":"2022-12-24T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T13:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=20647"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:31:45","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-chinkapin-oak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-chinkapin-oak\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Chinkapin Oak"},"content":{"rendered":"

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was\u00a0published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.\u00a0\u00a0Nearly 70 years later, the publication has\u00a0been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,\u00a0Indiana 4-H<\/a>, and\u00a0the\u00a0Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a>\u00a0to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a> exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.<\/p>\n

This week, we take a look at the fifth of our oak varieties in Indiana, the Chinkapin Oak or\u00a0Quercus muehlenbergii.<\/em><\/p>\n

Also known as the Chinquapin Oak, the leaves of this species feature shallow, evenly lobed margins, but appear to have sharp-pointed teeth at the end resembling red or black oaks. This sharp point, however, is due to a gland at the end of the leaves, and there is no bristle tip as are typically found on red and black oaks. \u00a0The shape of the leaves can be either broad like chestnut oak, or narrower.\"Drawing<\/a><\/p>\n

Like other members of the white oak group, the bark of chinkapin oak is light gray and ashy, however it has a flaky appearance.<\/p>\n

The fruit of the chinkapin oak is a small acorn that is dark brown or almost black in color. It has a cap that resembles a stocking cap, covering a third or half of the acorn, that features loose knobby scales. Under the cap, the acorn has a large white spot similar to that of a buckeye.<\/p>\n

Chinkapin oaks, which grow to 50 to 80 feet tall, are found in both upland and bottomland areas. The natural range of chinkapin oak is the eastern United States, with the exception of the Atlantic coast and the immediate gulf coastal plains.<\/p>\n

The Morton Arboretum<\/a>\u00a0states that chinkapin oak is best grown in rich, deep soils, but that it is often found in the wild on dry, limestone outcrops in low slopes and wooded hillsides. It notes that this species is one of the best oaks for alkaline soils. As with other oaks, this chinkapin oaks should be pruned in the dormant season to avoid attracting beetles that may carry oak wilt. This species also can be affected by anthracnose, oak wilt and two-lined chestnut borers.<\/p>\n