• The White oak has been the state tree of Illinois since 1973.  The pictures above show the winter, summer and spring habits of a Quercus alba located by Parking 20. This tree has been cut down.
• In the fourth picture, which is the same tree as the pictures above, the White oak appears to have a lot of white flowers, but that would be strange since the White oak DOESN'T have white flowers. Look at the fifth photo to solve the mystery.
• The white objects on the tree are actually newly emerged leaves. Flowers are present in the spring. In this photo of a white oak you can see the male flowers which are green, drooping catkins.
• There are two pictures that show the end of a branch on a White oak taken on April 13, 2004 and April 21, 2004. These pictures are of the same branch. The White Oak is monoecious with pendulous male catkins that emerge at the same time as the leaves. There are also small female flowers on each tree, but I do not seem to have any photographs of female flowers.
• Leaves are deeply lobed and dark and glossy in appearance. The fall colors of the Quercus alba can be stunning, with leaves turning orange and red. They will eventually turn brown and may remain on the tree all winter.
• The acorns appear above the leaves and may be in rather large clusters. Acorns of the White oak require only 1 season to mature. In mid July, the caps cover nearly the entire acorn. My mid August, the cap covers less than half of the acorn. By early October, most of the acorns will be on the ground. In most cases, the cap will have separated from the rest of acorn, but in cases where they are still together, the cap will cover 1/3 or less of the acorn.

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