Scientific Name
Quercus muehlenbergii
This tree, alternatively spelled chinkapin oak, is a large forest tree native to the eastern half of the U.S. except for much of the Atlantic coastal plain, which really makes it more a tree of the Appalachian Mountains and the Midwest states. Like several other oak species planted on the Regis campus, it's a member of the white oak group that produces acorns annually. Though, as is also common with oaks, years of heavy acorn production often alternate with years of scant production. The acorns are among the sweetest of any oak species and are often quite palatable enough for human consumption, so we suggest you may want to sample a few. However, as with other tree fruits, you may need to compete with squirrels and beware of wormy contents! Acorns were historically an important dietary component of North American indigenous people, with those from the white oak group preferred because they require little or no preparation before eating.
Denver is the location of the four champion chinquapin oaks, all of which top out, so far, around 65 feet with similar crown spreads – the measure of a good shade tree in our region. The foliage is coarsely toothed, two or three times as long as it is wide, and similar to the leaves of the chestnut oak; it's not deeply lobed like some other oaks in the white oak group. The fall color can be yellow, orange-brown or plain brown. Some individuals may color reliably better than others or may color well one year and not the next, which is also the case with the related chestnut oak and swamp white oak. This tree has excellent adaptability to alkaline soils, though it doesn't require them; it's also reasonably drought-tolerant once established – both qualities making it a favorite for landscape planting in our region, a fact recognized only in recent decades. Some individuals of this species may retain their dried brown foliage well into the colder months, losing it gradually during winter or even all at once in early spring.