NEN Gallery

A native originally of North America, Red Oak has been widely planted in England and in some places has naturalised. It has a straight smooth silvery trunk and, in England, reaches up to about 25m. The leaves are more deeply lobed than in other Oaks and have fine points at the tip. The male flowers are in conspicuous hanging catkins, the female flowers hidden at the base of the leaves (pictured) and mature over two years to produce a round acorn with a wide shallow cup. In Autumn, the tree has a brilliant reddish colour, hence its name. Picture taken at Odell, Bedfordshire November 6th 2009.