Photo: Bruce Kirchoff from Greensboro, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Oglethorpe Oak
Quercus oglethorpensis
One of the rarest oaks in North America, with willow-like unlobed leaves and white-oak toughness.
RareWildlife valueTolerates wet soil
- Type
- Large tree
- Mature height
- 50–80 ft
- USDA zones
- 6–9
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Sun
- Full
- Soil moisture
- Average · Wet
210
Described only in 1940, Oglethorpe oak survives in scattered stands in the Georgia and South Carolina Piedmont and a few sites in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, mostly on heavy, seasonally wet clay. It belongs to the white oak group, has narrow, entire leaves that look nothing like a typical oak, and has grown well far north of its native range in arboretum plantings. Growing it in a garden is a small act of conservation.
Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. Estimate growth for this species →
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