Black Oak

Black Oak
Quercus velutina

You know you've gone over the edge when you keep a copy of "Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast" in your car.  This is about the best book on tree bark that I've been able to find, but I'll tell you, not everyone is interested in that. It's hard to convince people that bark is interesting and a great way to id trees. Foresters understand this, even taking it to the extreme where they think they can id every tree by its bark, but most folks think I'm a little crazy. If you like trees and want to know how to identify them, get this book.



According to the bark book, young black oaks have smooth gray bark with raised lenticels.

As they get older, the bark gets darker and breaks into irregular blocks.