page_title: Quercus palustris
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Quercus palustris / Uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of largest known pin oak in New England - located in Northampton, MA. Photo was taken in August 2013.
context_page_description: Quercus palustris, the pin oak or swamp Spanish oak, is an oak in the red oak section. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance. Its distinctive shape is considered unique among hardwoods.
context_section_description: In its native range, pin oak is the most commonly used landscaping oak along with northern red oak due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance. However, as it is naturally adapted to moist, acidic soils, it may develop a condition known as iron chlorosis on less suitable locations, causing the tree to shed leaves during the growing season and rot from the top down. Mature pin oaks are often too big to treat and this nutrient deficiency on alkaline soil may eventually kill them. The drooping lower branches can also be a problem, interfering with access for traffic and pedestrians.
  It is also cultivated in parks and large gardens in the United Kingdom, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
  The wood is generally marketed as red oak, but is of significantly inferior quality, being somewhat weaker, often with many small knots. The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood. The bark was used by some Native American tribes to make a drink for treatment of intestinal pain.
  The name "pin oak" is possibly due to the many small, slender twigs, but may also be from the historical use of the hard wood for pins in wooden building construction.
  The pin oak is the only known food plant of Bucculatrix domicola caterpillars.
caption: Largest known pin oak in New England, located in Northampton, MA. 2005 measurements: Height 107.9 ft, circumference 17.4 ft, average spread 96 ft
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E4600", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Live Photo Gallery14.0.8051.1204", "Image DateTime": "2013:08:10 18:14:17", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2342", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6462", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6798", "EXIF ExposureTime": "10/643", "EXIF FNumber": "49/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:08:10 12:03:54", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:08:10 12:03:54", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "57/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1712", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2288", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "6324", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "34", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "3884"}