Quercus prinus, the Chestnut Oak, is a beautiful tree with large limbs and a broad crown of pretty leaves and brown acorns. The Chestnut Oak is a member of the Plant Kingdom and it is classified in the Oak family. Chestnut Oaks are sometimes referred to as rock chestnuts and occasionally as just plain old oaks. They range in height from 50 to 70 feet and are generally two to three feet in diameter with heavy close-grained wood. The Chestnut Oak doesn’t begin to branch until about 20 to 30 feet up the trunk. Chestnut Oaks have thick bark which ranges in color between dark-red and black, with broad rounded scaly ridges. They have primary roots that grow best in dry soil. Chestnut Oaks have yellow-green leaves that are shiny on the top but rather pale on the bottom with many fine hairs. Chestnut Oaks have deciduous leaves (they fall off in the fall and winter seasons) that range in size from four to nine inches. The leaves of the tree turn a dull orange or rusty brown color in the autumn shortly before they fall off. One of the best-known characteristics of the chestnut oak is its acorns, which are actually the fruit of the tree. These acorns are about 1.5 inches long and are usually light to dark brown in color. The Chestnut Oak has incomplete flowers (no petals) that are light yellow with a dark red stigma. The flowers are pollinated by wind.

Chestnut Oaks are most commonly found on high rocky banks, sloping hillsides, and beside streams. The Chestnut Oak was originally found only in Massachusetts and surrounding areas but now can be seen as far North as Maine and as far south as Georgia. Chestnut Oaks are also found as far west as Tennessee and Kentucky.

Chestnut Oak wood is used for fuel, fencing, and railroad ties and in most other wood products you see; such as store bought firewood. These trees are famous for their tough wood, which is used in wood floors because of its excellent durability. Early settlers also used the tannic acid in the bark of the Chestnut Oak for tanning their leather. The most famous and long-lived Chestnut Oak is the Washington Oak that is located on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. The Washington Oak is over 1000 years old! Although most Chestnut Oaks won’t reach 800 years of age they are usually very long-lived trees. The acorns of the chestnut oak serve as food for many animals, but the most common predators of these acorns are squirrels. So be careful when you walk under a chestnut oak, because an acorn or two has been known to leave the occasionally careless grasp of a squirrel and conk an unsuspecting victim on the head!

Written fall 2000, as a service learning project for Dr. Gary Coté's Biology 102 class at Radford University. Copyright Pathways for Radford.