Pin Oak Traditional Cache

This Pin Oak is not the one in the picture, as the cache had to be moved from the original spot. It is still a P&G.

Pin Oak

Quercus palustris, the pin oak or swamp Spanish oak, is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance. Its distinctive shape is considered unique among hardwoods.

Distribution

Quercus palustris is mainly distributed in the eastern and central United States from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Georgia, west to eastern Oklahoma and Kansas. It is also native in the extreme south of Ontario, Canada. The pin oak is also well adapted to life in Australia (where it has been introduced) and is quite widespread across the Australian continent especially in the cooler southern States such as Victoria and New South Wales. Is also well adapted to life in Argentina, especially in the Rio de la Plata region.

Pin oak grows primarily on level or nearly level, poorly drained alluvial floodplain and river bottom soils with high clay content. Pin oak is usually found on sites that flood intermittently during the dormant season but do not ordinarily flood during the growing season. It does not grow on the lowest, most poorly drained sites that may be covered with standing water through much of the growing season. However, it does grow extensively on poorly drained upland "pin oak flats" on the glacial till plains of southwestern Ohio, southern Illinois and Indiana, and northern Missouri. The level topography and presence of a claypan in the soil of these areas cause these sites to be excessively wet in winter and spring.

Mature pin oak displaying typical bronze fall coloration

Description

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 18–22 metres (59–72 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) diameter. It has an 8–14-metre (26–46 ft) spread. A 10-year-old tree grown in full sun will be about 8 metres (26 ft) tall. Young trees have a straight, columnar trunk with smooth bark and a pyramidal canopy. By the time the tree is 40 years old, it develops more rough bark with a loose, spreading canopy. This canopy is considered one of the most distinctive features of the pin oak: the upper branches point upwards, the middle branches are perpendicular to trunk, and the lower branches droop downwards.

The leaves are 5–16 centimetres (2.0–6.3 in) long and 5–12 centimetres (2.0–4.7 in) broad, lobed, with five or seven lobes. Each lobe has 5-7 bristle-tipped teeth. The sinuses are typically u-shaped and extremely deep cut. In fact, there is approximately the same amount of sinus area as actual leaf area. The leaf is mostly hairless, except for a very characteristic tuft of pale orange-brown down on the lower surface where each lobe vein joins the central vein. Overall autumn leaf coloration is generally bronze, though individual leaves may be red for a time, and is not considered particularly distinctive. The acorns, borne in a shallow, thin cap, are hemispherical, 10–16 millimetres (0.39–0.63 in) long and 9–15 millimetres (0.35–0.59 in) broad, green maturing pale brown about 18 months after pollination. The acorn is unpalatable because the kernel is very bitter.

A fast-growing pioneer or riparian species, pin oak is relatively short-lived, with a maximum lifespan of 120 years against many oaks which can live several centuries. It is naturally a wetland tree, and develops a shallow, fibrous root system, unlike many oaks, which have a strong, deep taproot when young. It is confined to acidic soils, and does not tolerate limestone or sandy Florida soil, and grows at low altitudes from sea level up to 350 m (1,148 ft). The Latin specific epithet palustris means "of swamps".

A characteristic shared by a few other oak species, and also some beeches and hornbeams, is the retention of leaves through the winter on juvenile trees, a natural phenomenon referred to as marcescence. Young trees under 6 metres (20 ft) will often be covered with leaves year-round, though the leaves die in the fall, remaining attached to the shoots until the new leaves appear in the spring. As with many other oak species, dead pin oak branches will

Leaves

Flowering and fruiting

Like all oaks, flowering and leaf-out occur in late spring when all frost danger has passed. The flowers are monoecious catkins which, being self-incompatible, require the presence of another oak for pollination. Any species in the red oak group can serve as a pollinator, but in Pin Oak's natural range, this will usually be Northern Red Oak or Scarlet Oak. Inter-species hybridization occurs freely. The acorns take two growing seasons to develop.

Catkins of Pin Oak

Bark

Damaging agents

Although pin oak is very tolerant of dormant-season flooding, it is much less tolerant of growing-season flooding. Trees may be injured or killed by intermittent growing season flooding over several successive years. The trees can usually survive one growing season of continuous flooding but will be killed by continuous flooding over 2 or 3 consecutive years. Pin oak is rated as "intermediately tolerant" to growing season flooding. Also, since the bark of pin oak is relatively thin, the species is especially susceptible to damage by fire and decay associated with fire wounds.

Typical autumn foliage

Uses

In its native range, Pin Oak is the most commonly used landscaping oak along with Northern Red Oak due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance. However, as it is naturally adapted to wet, acidic soils, it may develop a condition known as iron chlorosis on less suitable locations, causing the tree to shed leaves during the growing season and rot from the top down. Mature pin oaks are often too big to treat and this nutrient deficiency on alkaline soil may eventually kill them. The drooping lower branches can also be a problem, interfering with access for traffic and pedestrians.

Largest known pin oak in New England, located in Northampton, MA. 2005 measurements: Height 107.9 feet; Circumference 17.4 feet; Average Spread 96 feet.

The wood is generally marketed as red oak, but is of significantly inferior quality, being somewhat weaker, often with many small knots.The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood.

The bark was used by some Native American tribes to make a drink for treatment of intestinal pain.

The name "pin oak" is possibly due to the many small, slender twigs, but may also be from the historical use of the hard wood for pins in wooden building construction.

Associated species

Due to similarity in leaf shape, the pin oak is often confused with scarlet oak and black oak, and occasionally, red oak. However, it can be distinguished by its distinctive dead branches on the lower trunk ("pins"), and its uniquely shaped crown. The sinuses on Pin Oak leaves are also deeply cut, often covering just as much area as the leaf itself.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle. The push hard to turn kind. Please BYOP and recamo the hide, when you are done.