Quercus muehlenbergii

Chinquapin oak is monoecious in flowering habit; flowers emerge in April to late May or early June. The staminate flowers are borne in catkins that develop from the leaf axils of the previous year, and the pistillate flowers develop from the axils of the current year's leaves. The fruit, an acorn or nut, is borne singly or in pairs, matures in one year, and ripens in September or October. About half of the acorn is enclosed in a thin cup and is chestnut brown to nearly black.[4]

Chinquapin oak is closely related to the smaller but generally similar dwarf chinquapin oak (Quercus prinoides). Chinquapin oak is usually a tree, but occasionally shrubby, while dwarf chinquapin oak is a low-growing, clone-forming shrub. The two species generally occur in different habitats: chinquapin oak is typically found on calcareous soils and rocky slopes, while dwarf chinquapin oak is usually found on acidic substrates, primarily sand or sandy soils, and also dry shales.[4][6]

Chinquapin oak is also sometimes confused with the related chestnut oak (Quercus montana), which it closely resembles. However, unlike the pointed teeth on the leaves of the chinquapin oak, chestnut oak leaves generally have rounded teeth. The two species have contrasting kinds of bark: chinquapin oak has a gray, flaky bark very similar to that of white oak (Q. alba) but with a more yellow-brown cast to it (hence the occasional name yellow oak for this species), while chestnut oak has dark, solid, deeply ridged bark. The chinquapin oak also has smaller acorns than the chestnut oak or another similar species, the swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii), which have some of the largest acorns of any oaks.[4]

Key characteristics of Quercus muehlenbergii include:[7]

• Leaf base is typically rounded[4]
• Veins and sinuses are regular[4]
• Acorns with no stalks or with short stalks less than 8 mm long. The acorns turn chestnut brown in the fall[4]
• The leaves have sharp teeth but no bristles, as a member of the white oak subgenus of Quercus[4]

Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, for whom Quercus muehlenbergii was named (portrait by Charles Willson Peale, 1810)

Q. muehlenbergii is generally regarded as a distinct species from the similar-appearing chestnut oak (Q. montana). The tree's scientific name honors Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753–1815), a Lutheran pastor and amateur botanist in Pennsylvania. In publishing the name Quercus mühlenbergii, German-American botanist George Engelmann mistakenly used an umlaut in spelling Muhlenberg's name, even though Pennsylvania-born Muhlenberg himself did not use an umlaut in his name. Under the modern rules of botanical nomenclature, umlauts are transliterated, with ü becoming ue, hence Engelmann's Quercus mühlenbergii is now presented as Quercus muehlenbergii. In lack of evidence that Engelmann's use of the umlaut was an unintended error, and hence correctable, the muehlenbergii spelling is considered correct, although the more appropriate orthographic variant Quercus muhlenbergii is often seen.[8][9]

The low-growing, cloning Q. prinoides (dwarf chinquapin oak) is similar to Q. muehlenbergii and has been confused with it in the past, but is now generally accepted as a distinct species.[6] If the two are considered to be conspecific, the earlier-published name Quercus prinoides has priority over Q. muehlenbergii, and the larger chinquapin oak can then be classified as Quercus prinoides var. acuminata, with the dwarf chinquapin oak being Quercus prinoides var. prinoides. Q. prinoides was named and described by the German botanist Karl (Carl) Ludwig Willdenow in 1801, in a German journal article by Muhlenberg.[4]

Mature tree

Like that of other white oak species, the wood of the chinquapin oak is a durable hardwood prized for many types of construction.[14]

The chinquapin oak is especially known for its sweet and palatable acorns. The nuts contained inside of the thin shell are among the sweetest of any oak, with an excellent taste even when eaten raw, providing an excellent source of food for both wildlife and people. The acorns are eaten by squirrels, mice, voles, chipmunks, deer, turkey, and other birds.[15][16]