Tree of Merit: Swamp Chestnut
Oak (Quercus michauxii)
Story and photos by Jean Zimmerman, Commercial &
Consulting Arborist for SavATree and MFI Graduate
When saplings of swamp chestnut oak showed up
on the streets of Ithaca, New York in 2007, even
some knowledgeable arborists might have been
surprised. Rarely seen in the colder northern pre-
cincts of Zone 5 central New York, Quercus michauxii
hails from the Southern United States, where it
keeps its feet wet in swamps and mixed hardwood
forests. When I encountered mature specimens in
the college town recently, I wondered how michauxii
had wound up on the streets of "Mythaca."
"We were adding more oaks to the tree inven-
tory as we strived for greater diversity," says
former Ithaca City Forester Andy Hillman. "This
led us to the chestnut oaks—Quercus montana
(chestnut oak), Quercus muehlenbergii (yellow
chestnut oak), and Quercus michauxii. It was an
experiment that paid off." Hillman installed four
michauxii, planted from #3 pots that cost $15
each, throughout the streets of the municipality.
Thirteen years after planting, the swamp chestnut
oaks flourish in Ithaca. Light gray and scaly, the
distinctive bark resembles that of its cousin, the
white oak. Strips of the bark have traditionally been
used for basket weaving, lending the tree one of its
common names, "basket oak." The leaves resemble
those of the chestnut oak, leathery to the touch, but
have dense, evenly distributed hairs underneath, and
vary in length from 3 to 11 inches (8 to 28 cm), with
around a dozen pairs of large rounded teeth. The nut,
ovoid to oblong and light brown, is half encased in a
deep, warty, hairy, scaly cup that is about an inch (2.5
cm) wide. One to three acorns grow on a short stalk.
Bovines must not disdain warts, hairs, or scales,
since cows munch contentedly on the acorns, giving
michauxii another nickname: cow oak. So sweet
is their taste, supposedly there is no need to boil
the acorns first before grinding them for flour.>>
Bark of a younger swamp chestnut oak; the mature
bark looks very similar to that of white oak.
Strips of the bark have
traditionally been used
for basket weaving,
lending the tree one
of its common names,
"basket oak."
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