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Bear Oak

Quercus ilicifolia

Bear oak is a thicket-forming scrub oak of Northeastern barrens and rocky ridgetops, thriving where soils are too poor and dry for most trees. Heavy acorn crops feed birds and mammals through winter. Its acorns have served as a staple food once the bitter tannins are leached out and the seed ground into flour.

Family

Fagaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

4–12 ft

Spacing

8–15 ft apart

Light

sun

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

acidic

Bloom

March, April, May, June

Bloom colors

red, yellow, green

Wildlife value

songbirds, mammals, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~557 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

specimen, hedge or screen, erosion control

Native states

CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV