Chinkapin Oak Tree

Facts about Chinkapin Oak Tree, "Scientific name for Chinkapin Oak Tree is Quercus macropcarpa". The Chinkapin Oak Tree also known as Quercus muehlenbergii is sometimes called the rock oak, chestnut oak or the yellow oak tree. It is a deciduous medium sized oak tree which can grow into a round, open crown of a height of about forty to sixty feet (12.19 to 18.28 meters) and sometimes eighty feet (24.38 meters) but rare. The Chinkapin Oak Tree is native to North America including western Florida, northeastern Mexico, South Carolina, Vermont, Wisconsin, New Mexico and from central to northeastern Texas. It can be found growing along rivers like in River Guadalupe and also on limestone, sandy alkaline and rocky soils of the mountains in West Texas.

The Chinkapin oak tree has green foliage which produces oblong-shaped, simple leaves with an alternate arrangement. These leaves can develop up to about four to six inches (10.1 to 16.2 cm ) long with a spread of one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm). Individual leaf edges can have a sharp-toothed tip without bristles.

The Chinkapin Oak Tree has a monoecious flowering habit in which it has its flowers developing around the month of April to late May and sometimes to early June. Chinkapin Oak Tree has its staminate flowers developing into catkins. The catkins develop from individual leaf axils of the previously developed leaves with the pistillate catkins developing from axils of the already grown leaves.

Chinkapin Oak Trees fruit, known as acorns are produced either singularly or in pairs with half the entire fruit being enclosed with a chest brown to black thin-cupped wrapping. Its fruits mature after a period of one year and usually fall in late September to early October.
A Full grown Chinkapin Oak Tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds (21.77 kg) of carbon dioxide a year. The same Chinkapin Oak Tree could also produce enough oxygen in a day for two people. In a single day, a large Chinkapin Oak Tree can drink up to 100 gallons (378.5 liter) of water from the ground and discharge it into the air.
You can tell a Chinkapin Oak Trees age by the number of growth rings. Growth rings size shows what kind of conditions accrued that year, the temperature and if it was a dry or wet year.
Bark of the Chinkapin Oak Tree protects it from the elements and is made up of dead cells.

The deciduous Chinkapin Oak Tree can grow naturally in moist to well drained soils on upland areas including limestone and sandy soils along streams. Chinkapin Oak Tree can also do well in slightly acidic to alkaline soils with a pH ranging of six to seven. It is tolerant to drought and can be found establishing well in warmer climatic conditions.
Chinkapin Oak Tree roots usually grow two to three times the width of the tree branches. The ideal time to fertilize your Chinkapin Oak Tree is in late fall or early spring. If you want to transplant a Chinkapin Oak Tree do it in fall, this is ideal for most trees.
Chinkapin Oak Tree leaves are made up of many colored pigments, green chlorophyll hides the colors during the growing season of spring and summer. As days get shorter and cooler temperatures come in the fall, it cause the chlorophyll to break down and than the other color pigments can be seen.
Chinkapin Oak Tree growth is referred to as Meristem (The undifferentiated embryonic plant tissue from which new cells are created, as that at the tip of a root or stem). This tissue can be found at the tips of shoots and leaves. Inside the stem growth in thickness occurs at the vascular cambium.
Chinkapin Oak Trees make their own food from sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients from the soil.

Chinkapin oak tree produces great wood which can be used as fuel. In addition, the wood is a hard wood tree which is durable and has been used in construction activities. The acorns are fleshy and can be edible by humans when roasted. Animals and birds also feed on these fruits.