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Native oak species such as the pedunculate and sessile oak are widespread throughout Germany. Their share of the total forest area is a good 11 percent. Most naturalized species are found in parks.

In a nutshell

  • Native oak species are among the most common tree species in German forests
  • regional focal points are the Palatinate Forest, the Spessart and the warm lowlands in Germany
  • among the naturalized species, the red oak is the most common
  • outdoors, the deciduous trees grow in sunny and partially shaded locations

Native oak species

The following oak species are native to Germany:

downy oak (Quercus pubescens)

  • Occurrence: Parks, gardens, roadside
  • homozygous forest stands in Germany: in the south-west of Baden-Württemberg (especially in the Kaiserstuhl), in the Thuringian Saale valley
  • Soil: sandy-loamy to very loamy, tolerates wet locations well
The downy oak gets its name from the hairy petioles and undersides. Source: Andrew Butko, Ab plant 663, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Growth:

  • Height: up to 20 meters
  • Crown: broad crown with sparse protruding branches
  • Trunk diameter: 40 to 50 centimetres, very old specimens up to 2.5 metres

bark / branches:

  • Bark: grey-brown, thick, roughly rough feathered
  • Twigs: cracked bark

Leaf:

  • Petiole: about 1.5 centimeters
  • Leaf blade: oval or obovate to elliptic, sinuate, smooth leaf margin, 4 to 8 lobes, up to 12 centimeters long
  • Leaf surface: dark green
  • Underside of leaves: hairy, grey-green tomentose
  • Autumn colour: yellow

acorns:

  • individually or in clusters (three to four acorns)
  • 2 to 2.8 centimeters long
  • cup: hemispherical, hairy
  • Covers a quarter of the fruit, up to a maximum of half

English oak (Quercus robur)

  • another common name: German oak, summer oak
  • Occurrence: Parks, gardens, roadside, forest tree
  • Soil: sandy-loamy to very loamy, rich in nutrients, deep

Notice: Since the English oak is very adaptable, it also grows on alternating damp to wet soils as well as on dry sandy soils (oak-birch forest, oak-pine forest)

Growth:

  • Height: up to 40 meters
  • Crown: broad and rounded
  • Trunk diameter: up to three meters, free standing up to eight meters

bark / branches:

  • Bark: glossy grey-green, smooth and thin (young trees); grey-brown, thick, deep longitudinal cracks (older oaks)
  • Twigs: green-brown

Leaf:

  • petiole: up to a centimetre
  • Leaf blade: deeply sinuate, 5 - 6 lobes, smooth leaf margin, wavy on the petiole, 10 to 15 centimeters long and 7 to 8 centimeters wide
  • Upper side of leaf: deep green, glossy
  • Underside of leaf: lighter, e.g. T. blue-greenish
  • Autumn colour: golden brown

acorns:

  • in clusters (3 to 5 acorns)
  • up to 3.5 centimeters long
  • Cup of fruit: stalk up to 4 centimeters long
  • envelops the fruit up to a third

Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)

  • Occurrence: Parks, gardens, roadside, forest tree
  • Soil: sandy-loamy to very loamy, tolerates wet locations well

Growth:

  • Height: up to 35 meters
  • Crown: high domed with radiating branches
  • Trunk diameter: up to two meters

bark / branches:

  • Bark: faint grey-green glossy and smooth (young trees); grey-brown, deep longitudinal cracks (older oaks)
  • Twigs: dark grey, partly reddened, with gray dusting

Leaf:

  • petiole: up to two centimetres, yellow
  • Leaf blade: little indented, smooth leaf margin, 5 to 8 lobes, up to 14 centimeters long and up to 7 centimeters wide
  • Upper side of leaf: glossy, deep green
  • Underside of leaf: lighter
  • Autumn colour: yellow

acorns:

  • clustered sitting (3 to 7 acorns)
  • 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters long
  • fruit cup: almost sessile, downy hairy
  • envelops the fruit by about half

Naturalized oak species

In addition to the native species, there are also oak species that are considered naturalized today because they have been growing in this country for several centuries. With the exception of the red oak, however, they are rarely encountered.

Evergreen oak (Quercus x turneri, "Pseudoturneri")

  • other common names: Wintergreen Oak, Turner's Oak
  • Provenance: English crossbreed around 1780
  • naturalized in Germany since the 19th century
  • Occurrence: Parks and gardens
  • Soil: all soils, sensitive to soil compaction
Source: AnRo0002, 20141023Quercus turneri4, edited from Plantopedia, CC0 1.0

Growth:

  • Height: up to 15 meters
  • Crown: conical to uniform, rounded

bark / branches:

  • Bark: greyish, smooth (young trees); dark brown, cracked (older oaks)
  • Twigs: yellowish brown

Leaf:

  • leaf blade: obovate, up to 12 centimeters long
  • Leaf surface: dark green
  • Underside of leaf: lighter to greyish
  • Autumn color: evergreen

acorns:

  • in clusters (3 to 7 acorns)
  • about two inches long
  • Cup: hemispherical, felty

Red oak (Quercus rubra)

  • another common name: American pointed oak, American oak
  • Occurrence: Parks, gardens, roadside, forest tree
  • since the end of the 17th / beginning of the 18th century in Germany
  • Origin: Eastern North America
  • Soil: sandy-loamy to very loamy

Notice: The red oak makes up about 0.5 percent of the German forest stock.

Growth:

  • Height: over 30 meters
  • Crown: round
  • Trunk diameter: up to two meters

bark / branches:

  • Bark: greyish, smooth (young trees), thinly scaly (older oaks)
  • Twigs: red-brown with light lenticels

Leaf:

  • petiole: yellowish
  • Leaf blade: Deeply indented to lobed, lobe ends tapering to a point, leaf margin smooth, up to 22 centimeters long
  • Leaf color: green
  • Autumn color: orange-brown

acorns:

  • Length and diameter about two centimeters
  • Cups: flat, about a centimeter long stalk

Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)

  • in Germany since the end of the 18th century
  • Occurrence: parks, gardens
  • Origin: Eastern North America
  • Location: sun to light shade; Parks and gardens (rare)
  • Floor: all floors
The foliage of the scarlet oak tree in autumn. Source: Anders Lagerås, Scharlakanseklov, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Growth:

  • Height: 20 to 25 meters
  • Crown: densely conical (young trees), later asymmetrical and somewhat loose
  • Trunk diameter: more than a meter

bark / branches:

  • Bark: silver gray and smooth (young trees), brown/dark gray and cracked (older oaks)
  • Twigs: red-brown, warty

Leaf:

  • petiole: up to three centimeters long
  • leaf blade: deeply lobed, slightly serrated lobes, acuminate leaf tips, up to 18 cm long and up to 13 cm wide
  • Leaf color: green
  • Autumn colour: (scarlet) red

acorns:

  • up to two centimeters long
  • fruit cup: flat, broadly scaled

Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto)

  • another common name: Italian oak
  • Occurrence: (castle) parks, botanical gardens
  • Origin: Southern Italy, Balkans
  • in Germany since the 18th / 19th century
  • Soil: permeable, not too calcareous

Growth:

  • Height: up to more than 30 meters, short trunk
  • Crown: ovoid to spherical
  • Trunk diameter: up to 2 meters

bark / branches:

  • Bark: light gray to brownish, interspersed with cracks and furrows
  • Twigs: smooth, brownish with lenticels

Leaf:

  • petiole: petiole up to one centimeter long
  • Leaf blade: elongate to obovate, strongly sinuate, 7 to 10 lobes, smooth leaf margin, up to 20 centimeters long and up to 12 centimeters wide
  • Leaf surface: dark green
  • Underside of leaf: pale green
  • Autumn colour: coppery yellow to brown

acorns:

  • sitting in groups of two or four
  • up to two centimeters long
  • at least one third surrounded by the fruit cup

Notice: In Hungary, the Hungarian oak is rather rare because the soil is too calcareous.

Tear Oak (Quercus cerris)

  • Occurrence: Parks, gardens, roadsides, but also in the great outdoors
  • Origin: Southern France, Italy, Southeastern Europe, Austria
  • in Germany probably already naturalized in Roman times
  • Soil: sandy-loamy to very loamy
The Zerr Oak is easily recognized by its distinctive acorns. Source: Franz Xaver, Quercus cerris 3, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Growth:

  • Height: up to 35 meters
  • Crown: wide
  • Trunk diameter: up to almost five meters

bark / branches:

  • Bark: thick, hard, dark grey, with longitudinal fissures
  • Twigs: grey-green

Leaf:

  • petiole: short
  • Leaf blade: elliptical, deeply lobed, leaf margin smooth, up to 13 centimeters long
  • Upper side of leaf: dark green, leathery, rough
  • Underside of leaves: grey-green, felty, leathery, rough
  • Autumn colour: various shades of brown

acorns:

  • in small clusters (up to three acorns)
  • up to 3 centimeters long
  • fruit cup: prickly, short stalk
  • half envelops the fruit

Frequently asked Questions:

Is the Spree oak a native oak?

The Spree oak, which is actually called swamp oak, is a naturalized oak species. The best-known examples are in the Berlin government district.

How old do native oak species get?

Native oak species grow very old. The maximum age of the pedunculate oak is between 500 and 1,000 years, that of the sessile oak between 800 and 1,000 years.

When do oaks bloom?

Naturalized and native oak species bloom between April and June. The female flowers are inconspicuous. The male flowers appear as drooping catkins. The flower color is greenish-yellowish. An exception is the Turkey Oak with its green-reddish catkins.

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