// SPECIES PROFILE · TREE · NATIVE

Bur Oak

Quercus macrocarpa

Bur oak is the great cornerstone of the prairie–forest ecotone — a slow-growing white oak with corky branches, deeply lobed leaves, and acorns the size of golf balls cradled in fringed bur-tipped cups. Mature trees have stood since before Oklahoma statehood.

// QUICK FACTS

Family: Fagaceae
Group: tree
Native range: Cent. & E. North America; common in OK Cross Timbers and prairie groves
USDA hardiness: Zones 3–8
Mature size: 60–80 ft (300+ yrs)
Sun: Full sun
Water: Drought-tolerant once established
Wildlife value: Heavy mast for turkey, deer, squirrel; host to >500 lepidoptera spp.
Ecological role: massive savanna oak · largest acorns in NA

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) — *Quercus macrocarpa*. Photo via Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons.

Field Notes

[ growing · ecology · siting · care ]

Exceptionally fire-tolerant thanks to thick bark, and one of the best urban-tough natives — handles compacted clay, drought, and air pollution. Plant from a small acorn or 1-gal whip; mature canopy supports more wildlife than almost any other Plains tree.

Why it's on this list: massive savanna oak · largest acorns in NA. Part of Rooted Revival's NE Oklahoma plant catalog — natives, ecologically positive non-invasive cultivars, and food crops worth growing in the Tulsa region.

Companion Planting

[ guild · polyculture · cross-layer pairings ]

In a Cross Timbers oak-hickory savanna, bur oak pairs naturally with: chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), shumard oak (Quercus shumardii), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), and joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum).

bur oak works best as a canopy or sub-canopy partner above the herbaceous and shrub layers.

Photo Reference

// Quercus macrocarpa — bur oak
Photo: willowvw (iNaturalist, CC-BY-NC)

// Quercus macrocarpa — Chêne à gros fruits
Photo: pluvierdodu (iNaturalist, CC-BY-NC)