Quercus prinus

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Quercus prinus
Chestnut Oak.jpg
Leaf cluster
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Section: Quercus
Species: Q. prinus
Binomial name
Quercus prinus
Quercus prinus range map.jpg
Natural range

Quercus prinus (syn. Quercus montana), the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in southern Michigan. It is also sometimes called "rock oak" because of montane and other rocky habitats. As a consequence of its dry habitat and ridgetop exposure, it is not usually a large tree, typically 18–22m (60–70 ft) tall; occasional specimens growing in better conditions can however become large, with trees up to 40–43 m (130–140 ft) tall known. They tend to have a similar spread of 18–22m (60–70 ft). A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 5 m (16 ft) tall. This species is often an important canopy species in an oak-heath forest.[1][2]

Taxonomy and nomenclature[edit]

Extensive confusion between the chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) and the swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) has occurred, and some botanists have considered them to be the same species in the past.

The name Quercus prinus was long used by many botanists and foresters for either the chestnut oak or the swamp chestnut oak, with the former otherwise called Q. montana or the latter otherwise called Q. michauxii. The application of the name Q. prinus to the chestnut oak is now often accepted,[3][4] although sometimes that name is declared to be of uncertain position, unassignable to either species, with the chestnut oak then called Q. montana, as in the Flora of North America.[5]


The distinctive bark of the chestnut oak


Characteristics of the chestnut oak include:[6]


The acorns of the chestnut oak are 1.5–3 cm long and 1–2 cm broad,[citation needed] among the largest of native American oaks, surpassed in size only by the bur oak and possibly swamp chestnut oak,[citation needed]


Chestnut oak sometimes grow on rocks

This species is a predominant ridge-top tree in eastern North American hardwood forests. It often grows with multiple trunks, often as a result of prior injury to the main stem. It is a long-lived tree, with high-quality timber when well-formed. The acorns of the chestnut oak are a valuable wildlife food.[citation needed]




  3. ^ ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) accepts Q. prinus as the accepted name for the chestnut oak.
  5. ^ "Quercus montana". Flora of North America. Retrieved 8 October 2011. 
  6. ^ Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scriber's Sons. pp. 338–344. 

Additional references[edit]

External links[edit]