Chinkapin oak

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Chinkapin Oak

Chinkapin Oak leaves and bark

Conservation status

Secure

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Quercus
Species:	Q. muhlenbergii

Binomial name

Quercus muhlenbergii
Engelm.

The Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muhlenbergii) is an oak in the white oak group (Quercus sect. Quercus). It is native to eastern North America, from Vermont and southern Ontario west to Iowa, south to northwest Florida and eastern Texas, with disjunct populations in west Texas and southeast New Mexico, and eastern Mexico from Coahuila south to Hidalgo. It is occasionally seen outside its native range with examples at Ottawa, Canada, Raleigh, North Carolina and Lake Worth, Florida.

It is a deciduous tree reaching 30 m tall (exceptionally up to 50 m), with a rounded crown and thin, scaly or flaky bark on the trunk. The name comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of a chestnut or chinkapin, although they also greatly resemble the chestnut oak or swamp chestnut oak; coarsely toothed, 5-15 cm long and 4-8 cm broad. The acorns are 1.5-2 cm long, and mature in about 6 months after pollination.

The scientific name honors Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815), a Lutheran pastor and amateur botanist in Pennsylvania. Because the name may be spelled "Mühlenberg" with an umlaut over the "u", the scientific name is commonly spelled muehlenbergii. The Flora of North America, however, uses the spelling muhlenbergii.

It is sometimes distinguished from the related Chestnut oak by having pointed (not rounded) lobes on the leaves. However, the leaves often are identical. A more reliable means of distinguishing the two is by the bark. Chinkapin oak has a gray, flaky bark very similar to white oak but with a more yellow-brown cast to it, hence the occasional name yellow oak. Chestnut oak has dark, solid, deeply ridged bark that is very different. The chinkapin oak also has smaller acorns than the chestnut or swamp chestnut oaks, which have some of the largest.

The Chinkapin Oak is especially known for its acorns. The nuts contained inside of the thin shell are among the sweetest of any oak, they can be eaten raw and will still taste excellent. These provide an excellent source of food for both wildlife and people. Also, being part of the white oak family, the wood is a durable hardwood prized for many types of construction.^{[citation needed]}