Even though there are hundreds of species of oak trees, most are either a type of white or red oak. Northern red oaks are some of the largest trees in the Northeast. It is found form southern Canada to southern Alabama and from the Atlantic coast to the edge of the Great Plains.
Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) often grows to be a very large tree, exceeding 100 feet (30.5 m) in height and 2.5 feet (0.8 m) in diameter at breast height. In forest situation, it grows a long, slender trunk topped by crown filled with strong well-spread limbs.
The sapwood is nearly white and roughly 2 to 5 cm wide. The heartwood is brown with a tinge or red. Sawn lumber of the red oak group cannot be separated by species on the basis of wood characteristics alone.
The classic woods-grown red oak has a long, straight trunk topped with ascending branches that support a small, narrow crown.
When a red oak grows in the open – in a field, shading a city street, in a park – it forks nearer to the ground, its short, thick trunk dividing into a network of stout branches holding up a deep, spreading crown.
Northern red oak is one of the fastest growing oaks native to North America. It is used widely for lumber and veneer, and it is a valuable wildlife species as well. It is widely planted and managed for timber in France.
Red oak lumber can be separated from white oak by the size and arrangement of pores in latewood and because it generally lacks tyloses in the pores.
The open pores of red oak make this species group unsuitable for tight cooperage, unless the barrels are lined with sealer or plastic.
Northern red oaks
