Q. alba - White Oak - אלון לבן

White oak - UFEI

White oak - Q. Alba - Oaks of the world

White oak - Oak names

White oak - Global species

White oak - Flora of north America

White oak - USDA Forest Service

White oak - USDA National resources conservation services

White oak - PFAF; Plants for a future

White oak - Tropicos

White oak - Brief specie overview (presentation)

flickriver גלריה מרהיבה של האלון הלבן - אתר

A large deciduous hardwood Oak; the White Oak grows eventually huge at a moderate pace. While only 9 inches tall at most by the end of its first year; its growth will soon speed up unless put in transplant shock due to difficulty moving it's deep rootsystem. A 10 year old tree may reach 25 feet with ideal growing conditions and mature trees very often exceed 100 feet in height and the White Oak can live up to 1000 years. 70 year old trees can average 100 feet tall. It also grows large outside its native range and one in Colorado is over 70 feet. A huge White Oak with a trunk width well over 6 feet across grows as far north as near Peterborough, Ontario. The largest trees in the original old growth forest that blanketed the Eastern U.S. during the times of the Native Indians reached up to 240 feet in height, 160 feet in width and 11 feet in trunk diameter. This rivals the largest trees in the Amazon Valley of South America. A mature White Oak usually has a straight and massive trunk supporting spreading branches and a massive broad canopy of foliage. The White Oak lives up to 1000 years.

The leaves are oval, deeply and irregularly lobed; pinkish-red to soft green when young turning in summer to

deep green above and whitish below. In late fall the leaves turn purple-crimson and often remain very late on the trees. The leaves can reach up to 11 x 8 inches in size but are more often half that. The bark is light gray with lifting plates between deep parallel fissures.

The wood is hard heavy and strong and is excellent for furniture. The White Oak is hardy on most well drained soils in eastern North America from zone 3 to 9. It grows best with hot summers so it is not recommended in maritime western Europe where its growth is slow.

The White Oak produces acorns in 20 years. A 70 foot tall and 2 feet in diameter tree at 70 years old in Virginia was known to have produce 60 000 acorns. A grove of such can produce 200 000 acorns per acre. This tree is extremely valuable as winter food for wildlife and if the Oak every disappeared many of our birds and animals would disappear with it.

A one year old seedling may only be 4 inches tall yet have a taproot over 12 inches deep. The White Oak is best planted in its permanent location with protection from animals for it's first few years ( a screen cage is good ). Its deep taproot makes it difficult to transplant but also makes it extremely drought tolorant and tolorant of high winds. The White Oak is salt and pollution

tolorant but does not like disturbance and compaction of its roots.

עץ גדול בן כ 100 מוקדש בגן הבוטני של ברוקלין