← Bedfellow

Chinkapin Oak

Quercus muehlenbergii

Chinkapin oak is the oak for thin alkaline ground, growing out of limestone bluffs and old quarry edges where most oaks sulk, and it is one of the few that actively prefers a high pH. Its leaves look far more like chestnut than oak, narrow and edged with big even teeth, each tooth tipped with a small point rather than a bristle. The acorns carry very little tannin and are sweet enough to eat baked with no leaching at all, which is why deer, turkey and jays clear them within days of the drop. Like the white oaks generally it supports an enormous number of native caterpillar species, making it one of the most productive bird-feeding trees a property can hold. Its bark is thin, light gray and flaky, quite unlike the deep ridges of most large oaks. It is drought-hardy once established but resents wet feet.

Family

Fagaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

40–60 ft

Spacing

50–70 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade

Soil moisture

dry

Soil pH

acidic, neutral, alkaline

Bloom

March, April, May

Bloom colors

yellow, green, brown

Wildlife value

songbirds, butterflies, hummingbirds, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~557 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

naturalizing

Native states

AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV