Early last century the dominant tree species of warm, upland forests along the eastern seaboard was American chestnut (Castanea dentata).  Now but a memory due to a fungal disease accidentally imorted from Asia (click here to learn more about chestnut blight), red oak has taken over chestnut's former status.  Many of those trees were planted by squirrels.  As squirrels go about the task of collecting acorns in the fall to bury and store for later retrieval, some are forgotten and eventually sprout into new trees.  Red oaks are a tremendous source of food and shelter for a vast array of wildlife.  For additional information regarding the biological and ecological characteristics of red oak, click here.

The tree pictured here is growing north of DeMeritt hall along with sugar and red maples on the great lawn.  It is the largest red oak on campus with a diameter of 50.9".

Native to eastern United States.