Pin Oak

Pin oak is a large tree with a tall, straight trunk and pyramidal crown. Lower limbs droop, middle limbs are horizontal, and top limbs slant upward.

Leaves turn yellow to deep scarlet in fall. Bark light brown, smooth, shiny; becomes gray-brown, shallowly grooved and slightly roughened with closely flattened scales with age. The many limbs make pin knots in the lumber.

Flowering April–May, in catkins.

Fruits September–October, acorns solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3, often striped, ⅜ to ½ inch long, hemispherical; the shallow cup covers ¼ to ⅓ of the nut. Fruit bitter, ripening in autumn of second year.

Mature height to 100′