Click on the images help you identify a northern red oak.
Form
Height 55 to 80 feet with a trunk diameter of 24 to 36 inches. Tall and straight with a clear trunk and narrow crown.
Bark
On young stems, smooth and dark gray to dark brown. On older trees, thick and brown, broken by shallow fissures into regular, flat, smooth-surfaced vertical plates.
Leaf
Simple, alternate on stem, 5 to 9 inches long; divided into seven to nine lobes, each extending halfway to the midrib. Lobes somewhat coarsely toothed, bristle-tipped, and firm. Dull green above, paler below, often turning brilliant red in fall. Buds thick and pointed at the top.
Fruit (seed)
Large, bitter acorn maturing the second year; 3/4 to nearly 2 inches long; blunt-topped, flat at the base, with the base enclosed in a very shallow, dark brown cup.
Range
Grows throughout Minnesota but most common and of best quality in the rich soils of southern, central, and southeastern regions. Moderately shade tolerant, fast growing. Very susceptible to oak wilt fungus.
Wood uses
Light, reddish-brown, hard, strong, and coarse. Used for construction and finish of houses, furniture, and fuel. Grows more rapidly than most oaks, and production is widely encouraged in the southern parts of the state for both timber and shade.