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Post Oak
Quercus stellata
Family Fagaceae
Characteristics:
* Leaves leathery, gray beneath, with 6-8 rounded lobes that
resemble a cross. 3-8".
* Leaves, buds, and twigs gray-hairy.
* Acorn cup bowl-shaped, covers half to a third of the acorn.
* Bark brownish, with shallow cracks and rectangular blocks.
Natural History:
* Habitat: Dry soil.
* Range: Eastern United States.
* Native.
Connections!
* Post oak gets its name from the pioneers, who used its sturdy wood
for fence posts as well as railroad ties.
* Acorns of virtually all oaks can be eaten, both raw and roasted.
They can be ground into flour and grits, which have a nutlike
texture. Euell Gibbons tells, in his book Stalking the Wild
Asparagus, how to make Acorn Grits: Boil acorns for two hours,
then dry them slowly in an oven and grind them.
* Trees growing in drought-prone soils grow more slowly than
under more fertile conditions. Slow grouth results in dense,
hard wood; thus, carpenters in pioneer days used to select trees
from particular locations for particular aplications. When the
hardest oak was desired, the slowest growing trees were selected.
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