Swamp White Oak
Quercus bicolor
Swamp white oak is one of the best native shade trees for wet or poorly drained ground, with lustrous two-toned leaves and handsome peeling bark. Fast-growing, long-lived, and a powerhouse caterpillar host. Its acorns are notably sweet for an oak and were a traditional flour source once any bitterness is leached out.
- Family
- Fagaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 50–60 ft
- Spacing
- 50–60 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May
- Bloom colors
- red, yellow, green
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~557 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- rain garden
- Native states
- AL, CT, DC, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV
Related native plants
More Quercus species
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- White Oak (Quercus alba)
- Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
- Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)
- Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)