A star-shaped pith as with most oak species. There is no pith in roots. Note the five-lobed growth increments near the center of the tree. Red oak is a ring-porous tree that forms large vessels first in the growing period and smaller vessels later. Wide and narrow rays radiate from the center of the tree.
Oaks have a darkly colored protection wood called heartwood.
All cells are dead in the heartwood. Some events caused the tree to start decreasing its growth rate at this time. Note the decreasing width of the growth increments. The tree was wounded by buckshot during a dormant period nine years before it was cut. The barrier zone boundary between the growth increments indicates a wound during the dormant period.