Click on the images help you identify a northern pin oak.
Form
Height ranges from 40 to 65 feet, with a trunk diameter of about 24 inches or occasionally larger. Trunk tapers rapidly, and branches droop at the ends, forming a narrow, open crown.
Bark
Rather smooth, divided by shallow fissures into irregular ridges and plates. Color is grayish to dark brown, with reddish inner bark.
Leaf
Leaves are simple, alternate on the stem, 3 to 6 inches long, somewhat oblong or oval, usually with seven lobes. Each lobe is bristle-pointed and separated by rounded openings cut nearly to the midrib, giving the leaf a deeply cut or lacy appearance. Leaves are bright red and hairy in early spring, turning green later, and bright scarlet in autumn.
Fruit (seed)
Bitter acorn that takes two years to mature, 1/2 to 1 inch long, reddish-brown, and about half enclosed in its cup.
Range
Usually grows on dry ridges in southeastern Minnesota and as far north as Cass Lake, except on limestone soils. Not abundant in the state. Shade-intolerant, moderately fast-growing.
Wood uses
Wood is heavy, hard, strong, and coarse-grained, reddish-brown. Used mostly for fuel and as an ornamental tree. Easily grown from seed.