9 Beautiful Types of Oak Trees in Missouri

With 14 million acres of forests, the state of Missouri is filled with a lot of tree types, mostly hickory and oak. It is also home to 90 state parks and historic sites, so this haven for trees is a place to visit if you love trees of any type.

Oak and hickory trees outnumber other trees in Missouri, with four out of every five trees being one of these two types. Although the flowering dogwood is the state tree of Missouri, the state has nine types of oak trees to enjoy. Some of the other trees native to Missouri include cypress, birch, holly, spruce, pine, walnut, and palm, among many others.

Oak wood is very strong and thick, usually getting up to .43 ounces per cubic inches, and therefore it is a popular wood to use for a variety of construction projects, furniture pieces, and flooring, to name a few. Oak trees are majestic-looking trees that demand attention, and you can keep reading if you’d like details on the types of oak trees found in Missouri.

Also check out all types of Oak trees in North America.

1. Black Oak (quercus velutina)

Quercus Velutina
Bruce Kirchoff Quercus Velutina

Black oak trees typically get up to roughly 80 feet high and can have trunks that are nearly three feet in diameter, although this is not considered a large tree when it comes to oak trees. It is also called the Eastern black oak, and it has leaves that are four to eight inches long and are shiny green on one side and a yellowish-brown color underneath. In some instances, black oak trees have gotten up to 180 feet high, although this is much taller than the average height.

2. Blackjack Oak (quercus marilandica) 

Quercus Marilandica
Bruce K. Kirchoff Quercus Marilandica

Found as far west as Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, the blackjack oak is not a large oak tree because it only gets to roughly 50 feet high. Its broad leaves are three to eight inches in length, and they turn red and brown in the fall. It takes 18 months for their small acorns to mature, and the wood is often used in both bar-b-ques and wood-burning stoves. However, it should not be used in regular wood fireplaces because it tends to pop a lot, which can increase the odds of something catching fire.

3. Cherrybark Oak (quercus pagoda)

Quercus Pagoda
Bruce Kirchoff Quercus Pagoda

Getting up to 130 feet in height at the most, the cherrybark oak tree is strong and straight, making it the perfect wood to use as timber. Its trunk can get 35 to 60 inches in diameter, and its name comes from the fact that the bark is a dark cherry color. The half-an-inch acorns start producing after about 25 years, and it is one of the largest and hardest oak trees out there. The acorns average 200 to 750 acorns per pound, and they are more abundant once the tree gets to 50 years old.

4. Pin Oak (quercus palustris)

Quercus Palustris
Bruce K. Kirchoff Quercus Palustris

Pin oaks are part of the red oak family, and they get up to roughly 70 feet high. The trunks can get up to 3.3 feet in diameter, and their characteristics include a very smooth bark, a straight trunk, and a large canopy-like spread. The leaves of the pin oak tree are two to six inches long and can get up to five inches in width. They always have either five or seven lobes, and each lobe has bristle-tipped teeth.

5. Post Oak (quercus stellata) 

Quercus Stellata
Sandra Richard Quercus Stellata

The post oak grows slowly but is also easy to grow, in part because it can grow even in poor soil conditions – something not all trees can claim. At no more than 50 feet in height, the post oak is considered a small tree, and the acorns are also small. The acorns mature during the very first summer, and the tree has leaves shaped like stars that have a leathery feel to them. Also called the iron oak, post oak wood is used in the making of fence posts and flooring, among other products.

6. Scarlet Oak (quercus coccinea)

Quercus Coccinea
Dan Keck Quercus Coccinea

Growing from 65 to 100 feet high, the scarlet oak has a crown that is very open and round. The leaves are glossy and are three to seven inches long and three to five inches in width. They usually turn a beautiful shade of red in the fall, hence the name, and they have acorns that are ovate-shaped and have a cup-like structure encasing them. The acorns of the scarlet oak tree usually mature 18 months after pollination.

7. Shumard Oak (quercus shumardii)

Quercus Shumardii
Bruce Kirchoff Quercus Shumardii

The Shumard oak tree has very large acorns, making them a great food source for birds of all types, as well as waterfowl, deer, and many other animals. The tree grows to roughly 115 feet high and has unique bark that is smooth and reflective, not bumpy like bark usually is. Although 115 feet is the average size for these types of oak, some Shumard oak trees have gotten up to 200 feet in height, making them a majestic-looking tree indeed. The wood of the tree is used in many commercial applications and even as a shade tree.

8. White Oak (quercus alba)

Quercus Alba
Plant Image Library Quercus Alba

The white oak tree is actually a light gray color, and some specimens have been known to live for up to 450 years. The tree grows 80 to 100 feet high and has large leaves that get five to eight inches long and three to four-and-a-half inches wide. In the fall, the white oak’s leaves can turn any number of colors, including red and even purple. The tree’s acorns are one inch long and most of the time will fall off the tree in early October.

9. Willow Oak (quercus phellos)

Quercus Phellos
Matt Tillett Quercus Phellos

Willow oaks are part of the red oak group and get from 65 to 100 feet in height. Some, however, have been known to get up to 130 feet, which is quite high. Trunks can get up to 60 feet in diameter, and the leaves of the tree look a lot like the leaves of the willow tree. Leaves are five inches long and one inch in width, and the small acorns are a popular food source for animals such as squirrels and many other wildlife. The willow oak can also grow up to two feet every year, making it a very fast-growing oak tree.