The Bur Oak is a slow-growing and long-lived oak that grows from Nova Scotia to Pennsylvania, and west to Manitoba and Texas. It is one of the most characteristic trees of the Bluegrass landscape, though rare or absent in other regions of Kentucky.

A large savannah tree with gnarly bark and large fringed acorns up to 1.5 inches long, the bur oak is cold-hardy, fire resistant, and drought tolerant.

Bur oaks provide excellent shade for large parks in urban landscapes. It is a shelter and food source for wildfowl, game mammals, migrant birds, and small mammals.

Bur oak saplings do not tolerate shade and will not grow in a heavily forested area; the presence of ancient wide-spreading bur oaks in the Bluegrass therefore indicates this area of Kentucky was a woodland savanna prior to European colonization. Bur oak wood is hard, strong, tough, and durable, and has been used in shipbuilding, interior finish, general construction, and railroad ties.

Images courtesy of:
Jason Sharman
Indiana University
University of Kentucky
Ohio State University
Johnny N. Dell